Prima Materia
by Innate Lymphoid Cell
Summary: When the alchemy of Amestris proves insufficient to restore their bodies, the Elric brothers turn to knowledge of another world. Truth's toll is uncharacteristically forgiving, but perhaps Remnant's ills will be their payment to come. Nonetheless, if their quest requires dealing with yet another shadowy organisation intent on surpassing the domain of humanity, then so be it.
1. Chapter 1

**Been a busy few weeks. As always, interest in my other fics has ebbed and waned, and so I have started yet another project (lol). I've always been interested in crossovers between RWBY and FMA, but nothing ever quite scratched that itch, so I've started writing this up. My knowledge of both series is limited only to a single viewing of FMA:Brotherhood and RWBY up till Volume 6 thus far.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"That's not possible, little alchemist."

_What the hell?_

Five words. Five simple words. As soon as they left the lips of the white, featureless being, what confidence Edward Elric had was promptly shaken.

"W- what do you mean?" he stammered, regaining his composure with a look of fury in his eyes. "You said it yourself! This thing is _my_ portal of truth! I get to make the decision on how it's used!"

Truth began chuckling, slowly at first, then gradually picking up in intensity. Edward glared at it in annoyance, ready to demand just what was so funny, when its laughter finally died down.

"Did you forget what I told you first dared to play God, oh little Edward Elric?" Truth spoke, a look of amusement on its face. "You asked me who I was. Do you remember? I am called by many names."

'_I am the World. I am the Universe. I'm God. I am Truth. I am All. I am One. And I am also –'_

"_Me,_" Edward echoed hollowly, as horrified realisation sank in. "I can't sacrifice the Gate without also giving up myself…"

"That's correct, alchemist!" Truth clapped its hands loudly, lips stretched widely in a grin. "So, then. Back to the question. What will you sacrifice, Edward Elric? What will you give for your brother's body?"

Edward couldn't answer, but things couldn't end this way. He _refused_ to believe that there was no way that both Alphonse and himself could be brought back. They had fought homunculi that each possessed power of the Philosopher's Stones buried within their bodies. Hell, just scant minutes ago, they had battled Father who had created them all, one who had the power of hundreds of thousands at souls in the palm of his hand. He had fought one-on-one against a being that had dared to claim the power of God.

There was no such thing as impossibility. He had to _think, _damn it! Alphonse's life depended on him!

His mind raced furiously, thinking over all the possibilities at hand.

"Oh? That's a rather scary look you have there, alchemist."

Edward ignored Truth's words. There had to be a solution.

Equivalent Exchange. That was the fundamental law of alchemy. He had thought giving up his own Gate and thereby the use of Alchemy was the answer, but it clearly wasn't.

What, then, would be equal to the value of his brother's body?

What could he give up?

Even after what felt like hours, no answer came to his mind.

"Do you give up, alchemist?"

He stiffened, startled, at the sudden interruption from Truth. The formless being still stood in his same spot, a display of serenity despite lacking any discernible feature beyond its mouth, looking patiently at Edward.

"Hell no!" he snapped. "I'm getting Al back no matter what!"

"Such determination," Truth said, nodding, then sighed loudly. "A pity. There is nothing that you can offer that would both allow you and your brother to return home with your bodies."

_No._

Edward slumped over, his knees hitting the groundless floor. Truth's words echoed around the endless white expanse.

His words were absolute_. _Factual. Unchanging.

They were _Truth._

"Normally, I would punish one who would think themselves capable of playing God, but that is hardly the case with you, hmm?" Truth hummed, finally beginning to walk over to Edward. "Yes, yes – I am _You_, and I am All. It is not pride and hubris that brought you here to me, but desperation and humility. And yet it seems that you cannot pay the toll. It appears that we have a conundrum on our hands."

"There has to be a way," Edward insisted, his voice coming out barely louder than a whisper. He'd promised Al that a body would be waiting for him at the end of all this mess. It _couldn't_ end like this! "My arm… take my arm. Take my legs. Just please… please bring us both back –"

"Will you ever quit your mindless begging and _listen_?" Truth interrupted harshly, although there was no real bite in his words. Edward looked at him numbly. "You cannot pay the toll for the return of both your original bodies to Amestris, but that doesn't mean that you and your brother cannot _ever_ simultaneously exist in the physical world with your bodies intact."

That… that didn't make sense. He couldn't leave the Gate without paying a toll, but paying a toll to return with Al meant by definition that he would need to sacrifice his life. Leaving _without_ Al might allow him to return to Amestris, but there way no way in hell that he would leave his brother behind in this place.

He glared at Truth, but the being remained silent, looking on at him with a mix of amusement and anticipation.

_Think…_

Equivalent Exchange. The toll. The Gateway. His mind was awhirl with concepts. He had to break the problem down.

First and foremost, leaving the Gate with Al. Truth said that it was impossible for them both to return through the Gate to Amestris, but there _was_ a way for them to exist in the real world with their original bodies.

The simplest answer, then, was that they had to return _without_ their intact bodies. Al with his armour, and himself without his arm.

Still, that wasn't the answer, and he _knew_ that Truth knew it because the bastard still had that damned smile on its face. Everything they knew about alchemy told them that it was impossible to achieve such a transmutation without the use of a Philosopher's Stone, and both he and Al had sworn off ever using a Stone for such a selfish purpose.

Try as he might, he _still_ couldn't find the damned answer that Truth was looking for.

"What if I told you that the Amestrian alchemy isn't the solution, Edward Elric?" Truth hinted. "Nor does the answer lie with Xingese alkahestry, or the original alchemy of Xerxes. Likewise, there is no known method for what you seek in the practices of alchemy in Drachma, or Creta, and Aerugo."

"But those are all the major alchemical powers of the world –"

He stilled, pausing mid-outburst, eyes wide at the implication.

Truth couldn't possibly be suggesting what he was thinking, could he?

"It looks like you've found the answer, little alchemist," Truth said nonchalantly. "Well?"

"It can't be," he said slowly. "You're saying that there are other forms of alchemy? That other worlds _exist_?"

"Bingo!" Truth snapped its fingers, the unnaturally loud sound startling Edward. "Your answer lies within a world known as Remnant. For the toll that you can pay and that you are_ willing_ to pay, that is as much as I can tell you."

_Remnant. _The word meant some part of a greater whole that was left behind.

Something like their _bodies._

"And Al?" he prompted immediately. "How's Al going to join me?"

Without a word, Truth snapped his fingers once more, and just as suddenly the entirety of the white nothingness was his domain of Truth changed in an instant.

In front of another Gate that appeared from nowhere, there stood the emaciated body of his brother, a form he had glimpsed only once before when he had opened the Gate to escape from the depths of Gluttony's belly.

"Al…" he whispered, his throat suddenly dry.

"I can assure you, Edward Elric, that your brother is aware of our little conversation here," Truth said dryly, before his voice perked up excitedly. "Well? What will it be?"

"Al!" Edward shouted, ignoring Truth momentarily, rushing over to his brother. "Al! It's really you!"

"Brother," he greeted weakly. "You did it. You beat Father."

"Yeah," Edward spoke numbly. "I tried to bring you back by giving up my Gateway, but –"

"I know," Al interrupted. "I heard everything."

"You… you're not mad at me?"

It didn't make sense. It was _his _fault that Al had to sacrifice his soul in order to restore his arm when Father had him pinned down. Al should have been furious with him, and yet –

"Why should I be?"

"I promised you that I would get your body back…"

"It doesn't change anything, Ed." Edward glanced upward, stunned, as despite the frail body his brother still possessed, Alphonse glared defiantly at him. "So what if I'm going to have to get back to that suit of armour? It's been our life for the past five years. Now, we _know_ that it is possible to get our bodies back without using the Stone."

For a moment, Ed stared at Al uncomprehendingly, before beginning to chuckle as his words sank in.

Damn it. His brother always was the smarter and stronger one of them both.

"Yeah," he echoed Al's sentiments, voice rising in amplitude. "Yeah! We'll go to this Remnant, and we'll find out just how to get our bodies back!"

Sure, it would mean that they would have to leave the rest of them in Amestris behind, but all they needed to do then was find a way to return once they had their bodies back. If returning their bodies _was_ possible, there wasn't much else that was impossible.

"Perhaps you both would be willing to indulge in a little request of mine, hmm?"

They both flinched, turning immediately to face Truth. How had they _both_ forgotten that that being was still there?

"There exists one in Remnant much like the one you called Father," Truth continued smoothly, ignoring how both brothers stiffened at the mentioning of the original homunculus. "This being seeks to play God, to wield powers beyond her domain. Alas, I am unable to personally impose punishment upon this one despite the prideful hubris she has shown."

Another one like _Father?!_

"Another homunculus?" Al asked incredulously.

"She is neither human, nor homunculus," Truth said, then spoke more firmly before they could continue with any more of the many questions that they both had. "This is the deal that I offer you – fix this little annoyance, and I will give you a little… _head-start_, in a manner of speaking. Equivalent exchange, no?"

"You want us to _kill _her?" Al blurted out, appalled.

"Kill, punish, maim – it doesn't matter to me. So long as her arrogance is contained and that she pays a toll for daring to reach the heights of a God, your methods of achieving this outcome matter not. Who knows, perhaps if you do a good job, I might just be inclined to… _facilitate _an exchange."

Ed exchanged a silent look with his brother, before nodding slowly toward each other. They knew precisely what the other was thinking.

With their bodies or not, there was no way they could sit idly by while a being that Truth compared to the likes of _Father_ ran rampant, even if she was in another world altogether. Father had attempted to use the souls of all fifty _million _civilians of Amestris to create a Philosopher's Stone that would allow him to consume God. Ed had no idea what it was that this enigmatic 'being' was planning, but to even be compared on the same scale as Father meant some serious business.

Besides, if this 'Remnant' was the only way that they could obtain their bodies back, then they might as well accept Truth's deal, right?

"We accept." Ed asked with all seriousness, speaking on behalf of them both.

"Excellent!" Truth clapped his hands excitedly.

"What did you mean by a 'head-start'?"

Without warning, Truth stepped forward, his face entirely unreadable, and placed a hand on each of the two brothers.

"_For it is in despair that humans arrive at the Truth. Through this, they learn the nature of All and of One. Infinite as the Universe, and limited as the Self, I release your soul, and by my will, enlighten thee." _

Edward gasped loudly, as something _shifted_ within him. By his side, Alphonse reacted no different.

This sensation – it was warm, and yet not unbearably so. If he had to put it to words, it was almost like the time back when he had been mortally injured by Kimblee, when he had transmuted his own _life force_ to heal his injuries…

"What the hell did you just do?"

Truth said nothing, a wide grin on its face. Both Gates swung wide open.

"Hey, you – hey! Answer me!"

Black tendrils shot forth from the Gates, wrapping themselves around both himself and Al, and yet they didn't have quite the same feel as back during the fallout of their failed attempt at human transmutation. Sure, they still squirmed unpleasantly around him, but this time they didn't have quite the same suffocating sensation as though drowning in a pit of mud.

"Oh, before I forget. The one you seek is known as _Salem_," Truth said as though an afterthought, just before they were about to be dragged through each of their Gate. "Good luck, little alchemists. You'll need it."

With that, they were both brought through the Gate. The world of Remnant beckoned.

-o-o-o-

Again, what felt like an endless stream of information entered his head, and yet this time it felt contained. _Comprehensible._

The first time he passed through the Gate, it was as though every little bit of knowledge in the world was being beamed into his mind. It had been agony, pure and simple, and yet exhaustion had brought no respite from the ceaseless pain.

Now, it was focused. There was structure to it. Where before he had learned just one part of Amestrian alchemy with what he had given up as a toll, more concepts that he had since heard of during their travels and yet never fully understood now entered his mind.

_The Dragon's Pulse. Chi. Purification Arrays._

It was Xingese _alkahestry_, the counterpart of Amestrian alchemy that was founded upon the same underlying principles and yet entirely different. Where alchemy was scientific and rigorous, grounded in fact, alkahestry had always seemed whimsical, a concept that could never be explained in mere words, he now knew _precisely_ just what it was at its core.

It was a lot less than the first time he had passed through the Gate, when it felt like knowledge of the entire world was being forced into his brain. These were the mere basics of alkahestry, a _head-start _, as Truth would call it. From here, they needed to experiment and reverse-engineer what they had seen Mei perform.

After what felt paradoxically both like infinity and barely a few seconds, the exit opened once more, and Edward felt himself collide painfully against the ground below.

Damned Truth. Couldn't he at least have given them a proper landing?

Ed shook his head, his blurred vision quickly clearing. Now was not the time for such thoughts. Gently, he moved his limbs, and it was only with a small amount of dismay that he realised both his right arm and left leg had returned to their automail forms.

Heh. Nice of Truth to repair those for him.

More importantly, though –

"Al?" he asked, quickly glancing around. "Are you here?"

His answer came just a few seconds later, when a second Gate opened, and sent a massive suit of armour hurtling down toward the ground.

"Al!" he shouted, running up toward his brother. "Are you alright?"

"Ed?" Al's voice came from his body of metal, as he slowly began pushing himself up. "Is that you?"

"Yeah," he said, relieved that at least Al _seemed_ to be back to how he had previously been, even if he didn't have that armour with him. "Did you see it too?"

"Alkahestry?" Al asked, and Ed nodded. "Yeah," Al continued. "Mei told me about it before, but I never really understood just what she meant. Now, though…"

His voice trailed off, and Ed could understand why. Even now, knowing the fundamental basis of alkahestry that had just been shown to him, its ideas that paradoxically contradicted and complemented Amestrian alchemy still seemed absurd.

"You've still got everything intact?" Ed asked after a moment of silence, as he briefly gave his own body a quick once over. Limbs were still in place, and as far as he could tell he wasn't missing any of his internal organs.

"As much as can be expected," Al confirmed. "If anything, the pull on my soul from my original body within the gate seems to have weakened."

"Truth sure is uncharacteristically _nice_ today, huh?" Ed commented dryly. "Giving us all this information with so little a toll – and then that _thing_ he did with that creepy mantra that he spoke…"

"You felt that too?" Al whirled to face him from where he'd been loosening the joints in his armour. "It felt… it was warm, but with a sense of power and energy…"

"Yeah." Ed frowned. It couldn't be a coincidence that it was what he had felt when he had envisioned his life as _energy_ for transmutation. And those words Truth had said… "This is just conjecture, but I think Truth transmuted our _souls_."

"What?"

"Think about it," Ed insisted. "Philosopher's Stones utilise souls to power transmutations. Back when Kimblee attacked me in Briggs, I transmuted my life force to make use of bio-alchemy to stop the bleeding. Truth said that he _released our souls_ as well."

Experimentally, he entered the same state of mind he'd been in back when he had desperately tried to use whatever means he had at his disposal to fight on. He had seen himself as a living Philosopher's Stone, as yet another body of energy within the All that was the World. He drew upon that sensation, and –

"Brother!"

Al's sudden outburst divided his attention, and the warm heat that had quickly been building up faded.

"What is it, Al?" he asked, quickly glancing around. If there was a threat around…

"You were _glowing!"_

_What?_

Wait… it couldn't be a coincidence…

"Let me try that again," he said slowly, in as calm a manner as he could to ease Al's frantic panic. "Don't worry. I think I know what Truth did to us."

Again, he focused upon the same sensation…

"You did it again!" Al exclaimed, sounding amazed. "What are you doing, brother?"

Once could be written off as a coincidence. Reliability on repeated experimentation was support for his theory.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think Truth somehow unlocked a way for us to transmute the energy of our souls more easily," Ed postulated, phrasing his words carefully. "If all alchemy relies on pathways and matrices, then what he did had to be the equivalent of drawing the Line to complete the transmission array."

Yes. That had to be it. Back in Briggs, it had taken every fibre of his being and every ounce of willpower he could muster just to accelerate his own healing, but now calling upon whatever this force _was_ came with much greater ease.

"How do you do that?"

Al's armoured helmet didn't quite exactly allow for facial expression, but he could picture his brother gaping widely. Ed smirked for a moment at the mental image, before telling Al just what he had done.

"Picture your life as energy," he began saying. "The same as a Philosopher's Stone. Think of yourself as nothing more than a Stone made up of a single soul. Use that energy, and –"

Abruptly, the surface of Al's armour began to glow with a soft white light.

Okay. _Now_ he understood just why Al had been so taken aback before.

"That's it, Al," he said. "You've got it!"

For a few moments, Al didn't speak, and Ed got the distinct impression that he was deep in thought.

"This must be how Homunculi get their resilience and strength," Al finally voiced his thoughts aloud, regarding Ed carefully. "They possess biological bodies, but are powered by Philosopher's Stones. If they can draw upon the Stones' power to regenerate themselves upon death…"

"…it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that they use their power to gain their superhuman strength," Ed finished.

Certainly, there was no way that the sheer speed and destructive power King Bradley displayed could have been naturally obtained. Even Gluttony or Sloth couldn't have had the strength they possessed simply relying on their mass and biological makeup alone. He couldn't quite draw upon whatever this power was instinctively during a battle just yet, but knowing that he had the option available was comforting.

But if that was the case, if this was indeed soul transmutation, just what did Equivalent Exchange mean here?

How much was the energy of his soul worth?

"Is this what Truth meant?" he asked Al, trying to make some sense of his own thoughts. "If this really is the soul that we're talking about… could this '_Remnant'_ place have some form of bio-alchemy of their own that would let us get our bodies back?"

"It's possible, but –"

Abruptly, he fell silent, unmoving, and Ed knew just exactly why.

Something was _wrong_. There was something pricking at his senses, and after the many battles he'd been in, he'd be foolish to ignore that warning.

Carefully, he took more careful stock of his surroundings. They were in the middle of what seemed to be an open road, dense trees lining the path on either side. It seemed to be nearing evening, based on the position of the setting sun.

Then, the more practical side of him took over. Wooden fences – he didn't have much experience transmuting that for combat purposes – but large amounts of stone, earth and gravel of the path was freely available to him. Trace amounts of minerals within rocks could allow for limited deconstruction and reconstruction of metals as well, but not quite as much as he would have liked.

Then, without warning, _they_ pounced out from the shadows of the trees.

His instincts cried a warning, and he tumbled aside. He felt the tips of something sharp ripping through his precious red cloak, thankfully avoiding any harm to himself.

"Brother!" Al cried out, and the tell-tale sounds of clapping and metal being reshaped told him that his brother had fashioned a weapon out from the traces of metal in the ground below.

Ed deftly somersaulted through the air, riding on the momentum of his lucky dodge to land safely some distance away. Now that he had some time to register just what had happened, he could see just what had attacked him.

…_what the hell?_

"A _homunculus?"_ he asked incredulously, closing the transmutation circuit as he brought his hands together. With practised eased, he reshaped the chrome, iron, and carbon on the tip of his automail arm, altering its structure into the wrist-blade he favoured.

The creature glared at them both warily, now that its alpha strike had failed. And a _creature_ it was, for there was scarcely any other word to describe it.

Its physical form looked almost like a wolf, only larger than any that Ed had seen before. Its face was covered with a bone-white mask – or was that actual _bone_? – but it was its body that Ed recognised.

That inky black substance was one he'd seen many times over; first the black tendrils that came out from the Gate during his doomed attempt at human transmutation, then when he'd encountered the Homunculi, and most recently just minutes ago when Truth had dragged them both out through the Gate.

But this…

This was no homunculus.

"No," Al confirmed. "It's something… it's something _else. _It feels different. It…"

"It doesn't have a soul," Ed said, completing the thought that he knew Al was thinking.

He was no warrior from Xing or master of alkahestry, who could instinctually read the Dragon's Pulse and feel this mystical chi that he'd heard Ling, Fu, Lan Fan and Mei speak about, but even an amateur like himself occasionally felt the overwhelming presence of a homunculus. Now, shown the fundamentals of alkahestry by Truth, despite never before having practised this exotic form of alchemy he still knew that the being before him was entirely soulless.

And, being soulless, it didn't make even the slightest bit of sense.

How could a being without a soul move? How could it _live?_

And was it _wrong_ to have to kill it? Could it even be killed?

He didn't have much more time for further thought, because it came lunging at him once more. At that point, instinct took over, and with another circulation of power and a slam of his palm upon the dirt below, columns of earth began to form from craters in the ground. They slammed into the soulless creature with great force, launching it away from them both to land some distance away with a resounding thud.

"Brother!"

"Right!"

They were both moving, each knowing just what the other was thinking. Their Teacher had drilled this into them, hard. Mustang's later tutelage (as much as he hated acknowledging the fact that the damned colonel taught him anything) only highlighted the importance of seizing the advantage during a battle.

Wrist-blade and transmuted spear pierced cleanly through the creature from either side. Just as quickly, both brothers leapt back, weapons held defensively, prepared for it to regenerate as homunculi did. It may not be a homunculus, being entirely soulless, but given that it seemed to be made of the same inky substance –

To their surprise, the creature only stirred for a brief moment, before disappearinginto black motes of nothingness.

"_What the –"_ Ed gasped, his automail arm twitching at the unexpected development. "What is this?"

"It's like what happens after we cut off the parts of a homunculus from its body…"

Sure enough, within a few moments, there was no longer any sign of the creature, not even the true forms that Envy and Pride had reverted to once their Stones had been destroyed.

Just what the hell was that?

A low growl came out from the trees, followed quickly by another, and then another.

As one, both brothers clapped their hands, shaping the following transmutation before their minds registered the incoming attack.

Two walls of stone cut the incoming creatures off from where they came from either side of the road. Without wasting any time, Ed began processing the situation.

_Four more of those creatures. Not extremely regenerative, but possessing a superhuman durability. Roughly a kilogram worth of various metals, a decent amount of silicon from sand, a load of inorganic matter and minerals, a sizable chunk of carbon, some water trapped within the soil – _

Yeah, he could make do with those.

"I'm starting to understand why the toll he made us pay was so low," he commented dryly. "Damned Truth didn't mention _soulless homunculi _being the norm around here!"

With another application of alchemy, a spear of earth pierced into what would have been the flesh of a regular creature. It wasn't dead – could a soulless creature die? – but at least it seemed to be slowed down by wounds as any living being would be.

"Now's really not the time, brother!" Al chided, cleanly transmuting a wall of earth to fend off one of the creatures that tried to circle around to attack them.

"Heh." Ed allowed a final brief chuckle, before focusing his attention back on the four creatures attacking them. "Fine, then."

As far as he could tell, they were living, but not. They were even less of living beings than the failed products of human transmutations, since those _at least_ had souls.

These monsters?

These he could fight without hesitation.

"Come at me, then!" he taunted, pirouetting to dodge the closing jaws of one of his assailants.

Another quick formulation of his desired structure, and a series of cannons composed of sand that launched projectiles of rock was formed, firing their payloads at the creatures. One fell, disappearing into nothingness, and two more were injured.

Compared to homunculi, these were child's play.

Within moments, the only evidence of a fight having taken place were the pillars of earth rising from the ground, the hands of metal and stone that reached and grabbed at the creatures, and shattered projectiles that had been broken from impacting against their foes. Another few transmutations, and not even that remained, beyond the slightly unnatural borders within the dirt that marked the use of alchemy.

"They're not homunculi, that's for sure," Ed said, reverting his automail arm to its original form and hiding it under the long sleeves of his cloak.

"Yeah," Al agreed, but still seemed troubled, and Ed couldn't blame him. Aside from the fact that they broke every known law of alchemy – where did their mass go when they disappeared, for one? – there was the matter of whether or not they were _living_ creatures. "Brother…"

"I know," he assured Al. "I don't like it either, but until we find out more about this world and whatever the _hell_ those things were, we've got to treat them as enemies. These aren't like the chimeras or even homunculi that we're used to."

He'd become close friends with Greed over their travels – he was still furious and grieving at how Greed had sacrificed himself so they could take down Father – but these creatures lacked any form of personality or individuality, furthering their hypothesis that they had no soul.

"Right," Al affirmed, but didn't sound his usual spirited self. "Let's just – let's just try and find somewhere we can get some answers."

"Yeah. Plus, I'm willing to bet that these things tie in somehow with the method Truth hinted to us about how we can get our bodies back."

Knowing how that damned bastard worked, Ed was under no illusion that these were probably not the only enemies they'd be facing. Dusk would soon be falling, and he really didn't want to be caught off-guard again by anymore of these things.

"Let's hurry," Ed said, beckoning over to his brother. "Hopefully, that'll be the last we see of –"

A burst of thunder split through the air, followed quickly by several more. In the distance, the distinctive sight of towering flames appeared out of nothingness. Clouds swirled overhead, even though just moments before the skies as far as the eye could see had been entirely clear.

"…me and my big mouth," he groaned, then exchanged nods with Al. "Let's hurry!"

As they sprinted toward where the fighting was – for what else could it be? – he privately hoped that all this _wasn't_ the norm for this world.

-o-o-o-


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2!**

* * *

Cinder Fall felt the anticipation welling within her as she stepped slowly toward the defeated Fall Maiden. Emerald and Mercury held each of the terrified Maiden's arms, forcing her down onto her knees, as she beheld the inevitability to come.

Cinder could cherish these few moments. Soon, the power of the Maidens would be hers.

"_Please…_" the girl begged – _begged! – _but nothing could deter Cinder. This power was hers for the taking. It was her destiny.

How pathetic. To think that a power of legend could ever have fallen to someone like her.

Well, all the better for her, she supposed.

Slowly, she stretched her hand out, taking the time to slip on the glove that her mistress had gifted to her. The trembling of the girl's face only grew, and her struggles increased, but injured and bereft of what Aura she had there was no way she could fight off both Emerald and Mercury.

She placed her outstretched palm just in front of the Maiden's face, relishing the despair in her wide eyes. A dull red glow emanated from the glove that bore her mistress' sigil, and a Grimm Beetle manifested into being.

"_Please don't!" _the Maiden whispered weakly, desperately, her eyes darting around in a panic. "Pl –"

Before she could finish the word, the beetle spat its black threads toward the girl's face, and at long last her task was done.

The Fall Maiden's power was _hers_ at last.

She didn't even care for the screams of agony coming from the Maiden now. All she felt was the rush of power quickly being transferred to her by the Grimm in her palm. All this power… all this _strength…_

Yes, this was everything that her mistress had promised her and more. _This_ was the power of the four Maidens.

Had the Fall Maiden already fainted? Her screams were gone, now.

It didn't matter. Her power would all be Cinder's own.

"No! Let her go!"

_What?_

Her head snapped around to face where the shout had come from. Her eyes widened as spears made entirely of earth flew toward her. She leapt backward quickly, dodging the projectile, as the connection between her and the defeated Maiden snapped.

Damn it. One of them had pierced cleanly through the Grimm Beetle.

Her eyes caught sight of the ones who had dared attack her. A blonde-haired boy, and what looked to be an armoured knight.

Huntsmen, then? Were they one of Ozpin's? They were rushing toward them, but their movements weren't quite as fast as accomplished Huntsmen. Students?

Was Ozpin _that_ desperate now? Or were these just children playing at being heroes?

"Al! Get her out of there!"

"Right!"

_Really?_ A little overconfident of them to think that they could defeat them with their abilities. As far as she could tell, they didn't even have _weapons_, beyond what had to be Rock Dust somewhere on their persons that they used to launch their first attack.

Then, the blonde-haired, shorter one clapped his hands for some inexplicable reason, bent down low even as he charged, and –

She had to fight back her surprise as the ground beneath her feet _shifted_, barrelling into her with force that her Aura managed to negate. It wasn't exactly a powerful attack, but now she was wary of her foe.

Was that a Semblance? It didn't seem like Dust.

The fact that he was _male_ and clearly not Ozpin already excluded magic, by definition.

Her underlings were already rushing into battle, although they didn't make any sound that could give any their identities. Mercury and Emerald moved to engage the armoured one. Cinder took a moment to glance over at them. Bullets from Emerald's weapons impacted and left small dents in his armour, but was otherwise ineffective. For all his _size_, he moved with remarkable grace, dodging Mercury's kicks where he could.

Then, he too clapped his hands, and brought it down to the ground. Sparks of what looked like blue electricity appeared, before twin walls of earth spread out from either side between himself and the Maiden, pushing both Emerald and Mercury away.

_What – _

"Do you really have the time to look at their fight, lady?" the runt taunted.

She gritted her teeth, ready to slice and carve him up into pieces, only to come face to face with a _ballista _and a grinning huntsman.

"Take this!"

She arrested her momentum, quickly changing directions to dodge from the attack that would come, but –

The projectile never launched.

A _feint_.

A hand made of _stone_ came out from the ground where she was about to land. The boy's smirk widened.

Did he really think that was enough?

It would have been more than simple to dodge that attack from whatever Semblance it was that he possessed, but it seemed like a fine opportunity to test the Maiden's power.

Focusing, she drew upon the new power she gained. It wasn't natural or instinctual, but she could _feel_ the strength it promised.

The fireball left her hand, blasting the rock formation into nothingness. Given time to experiment with these powers, she knew that she could have done much, _much_ more.

"What the hell?"

The kid was guarded now, carefully watching her, all confidence that he held previously lost.

Hmm. It seemed that he _wasn't_ one of Ozpin's, then. Probably just one unfortunate fool that happened to stumble across them.

"There wasn't equivalence…" he muttered, even as he clapped his hands, quickly bringing it down to the ground below. Dodging his next attack was child's play. She tumbled aside from the series of earthen pillars – did the child have no _originality? – _readying herself to end it once and for all, when suddenly something struck at her from the side.

Where there had been a ballista before, now there was a battering ram, its heavy beam outstretched from where it had struck her. Her Aura took the brunt of the damage, of course, but now she would make sure that the brat would suffer.

"Tell me!" her opponent shouted, dodging the arrows that she fired at him. For all that he didn't seem too powerful, he sure knew how to _dodge._ Most irritating, indeed. "What kind of alchemy was that?"

Alchemy? What was he talking about?

Of course, she wasn't about to run her mouth during a fight. She wasn't as foolish as he was.

"Damn it," he cursed, sensing that she wasn't about to answer. "Al! We need to get out of here!"

Such a fool. She manipulated the Dust lining her clothes, and sent a fireball launching toward him. His eyes widened, and he tried twisting his body, but to no avail.

She smiled with satisfaction when the attack connected. It seemed that he _couldn't _dodge forever. He may have absorbed her attack with his Aura, but he had to be running low on his reserves.

"BROTHER!"

A wall of earth intercepted the next two attacks, as the armoured one snatched her opponent from the ground, the Maiden clutched tightly in his other arm.

"I'm… fine!" he coughed out. "Damn it, we can't take them! Let's run!"

Run? In their condition, with their skills?

Preposterous.

The boy clapped his hands.

That same trick again? It may have worked once or twice, but she figured out his Semblance by now. Manipulation of earth or stone seemed to be the answer. It was versatile, but there was nothing he could do with it to defeat all three of them. They were both bunched up together, now, and there would be no escape.

She prepared for his attack –

– when suddenly a thick cloud of _mist_ exploded into being.

_What?!_

"Stay inside! Find them!" she finally ordered. "Find them and kill them!"

"R- Right!" she heard Emerald from within the dense, obscuring cloud. Mercury simply grunted.

She leapt out of the mist, looking around for any sign of the damned fools who thought they could make a mockery of her. They weren't anywhere in sight, and she doubted that could move fast enough to escape from her view in so short a time. They had to be biding their time inside the cloud.

She was the Fall Maiden, now, and she would not allow these _runts_ to take away her prey. Concentrating, she drew upon her new abilities once more, calling forth a wave of wind to blow their desperate concealing screen away.

All that she saw were Emerald and Mercury.

There was no sign of any of the Huntsmen, or the Fall Maiden.

_Impossible. _There was no way they could have escaped, unless they had a portal Semblance of some sort. Quickly, she whirled around, searching quickly –

She just barely managed to dodge out of the way of the swing of a scythe, skidding to a halt some distance away as she deflected the shotgun shells that followed up in the wake of her assailant's attack.

Damn. She knew this one.

One of _Ozpin's_ minions.

They couldn't stick around any longer.

"Where is she?" he called out dangerously. "Where is _Amber?"_

Hmm. So those two really weren't with Ozpin, then.

She gave no response. She forced him to dodge with another use of the Maiden's power – it was quickly taxing at her – while gesturing for them all to _leave_.

Under the cover of Emerald's Semblance, they distracted Ozpin's pawn long enough for them to leave.

She didn't yet have all of the Maiden's power, she knew. It didn't matter. If she survived, Cinder would hunt her down, and make her regret ever having possessed such a power as weak as she was.

And that boy and his _brother – _they would pay a hundredfold more for the mockery they had made of her.

-o-o-o-

Qrow Branwen slumped over, resting his weight on Harbinger.

Damn it. Damn it all.

The enemy had Amber. They had the Fall Maiden's power.

He had failed, just a few minutes too late. He had rushed over as soon as he had seen the sight of battle in the distance that any huntsmen-in-training could tell was _not_ born of Aura, Dust or Semblance, and _still_ he'd been too late.

Sometimes, he really hated his Semblance.

He took out his Scroll, dialling a familiar number. It took only moments for the call to connect.

"Amber's gone," he cut to the point immediately. "They got her."

"_What?" _he heard the normally stoic headmaster gasp, before immediately regaining his composure. "_Are you sure, Qrow?_"

"No sign of her, not even a body. Salem's minion created a damned pillar of flame, _without_ Dust. If that doesn't scream '_Maiden power',_ I don't know what does. Yes, Oz, they've got her." He sighed tiredly, running a palm over his face. "They've got Amber."

"_No body, you say?"_ Ozpin mused, then lapsed into silence.

All the better for him. Qrow took the time to study the battlefield, looking for any hint of just what in all of Remnant had happened here.

…since when did Amber fight like_ this_?

Now that he had more than a few seconds to organise his thoughts, and confirm that yes, he was not drunk – not that he'd had more than a few sips from his flask during this mission – he could guess that Amber wasn't the one who made these.

Stone pillars reached out from the ground, pausing at arbitrary lengths at random, focused locations. There was a damned _battering ram_ standing in the middle of the road. Broken stone spears and swords made of sand were discarded on the ground.

Yes, it was safe to say that Amber most definitely didn't fight like that.

Was this the Semblance of one of Salem's underlings? If so, something distinctive like that would help with trying to capture and interrogate them for all the information they had.

"_Qrow_?" Ozpin spoke suddenly from his Scroll. "_Is something the matter?"_

"Take a look at this, Oz."He turned on the video feed on his Scroll, allowing the headmaster to look at the aftermath of the battle. "I'd say we found ourselves a clue of who our enemies are."

"_Hmm…" _Ozpin did that humming noise he made when he wanted to sound mysterious and enigmatic. "_But you say that Amber's body wasn't anywhere to be found?"_

"Yeah. She wasn't with Salem's gang, either."

"_I see. Then we may yet hang onto hope that she's still alive. Please continue searching for her, Qrow, and I await a more complete report when you arrive at a more private location."_

"Will do. Talk to you later, Oz."

He shut off the Scroll, placing it back into his pouch. Sure, there was a _chance_ that Amber was still alive, but he wouldn't hang onto that hope.

More than likely, the new Maiden would have incinerated her corpse with her new powers.

He took a quick glance around, made sure that no one was around, then morphed into his crow form. It wasn't his favourite mode of travel, but if Oz thought that there was a real chance that Amber _could_ still be alive, he'd look around for any clues he could find.

-o-o-o-

Far below the ground, two brothers waited with hushed breaths in the underground cavern of their own creation. They didn't dare make any sound, beyond the clapping of hands every several tens of seconds to close the transmutation circles made by their own body, and recompose the air in their immediate vicinity into a breathable environment.

Time dragged on, as they remained in complete darkness. They weren't stupid enough as to attempt to transmute a flame with some volatile phosphorous, given that they didn't have the ridiculous pinpoint control of oxygen transmutation that Mustang had to fuel his flame alchemy. A single mistake, and both of them alongside the injured lady would be killed within instants.

They had just barely escaped by the skin of their teeth. The woman Edward Elric had fought wasn't at all normal.

For some reason, she gave off a similar feeling to that a _homunculus_ would give, and with their new knowledge of chi that Truth had so kindly imparted unto them, Ed could sense that she was a monster. If the homunculi of Amestris gave off the same feeling, he now knew why the foreigners from Xing were always so apprehensive about fighting them.

He and Al had arrived just in the nick of time to watch, horrified, as an oh-so-familiar black tendril extended from a gloved hand toward the face of the lady now hiding alongside them, entirely unconscious, although her weak breaths told them that she was at least still alive. He could _feel_ the unnaturalness from that black beetle-like creature, so similar and yet different to those wolves they'd fought.

From the way that the threads of inky darkness dug into the lady's flesh, Ed couldn't help but draw a comparison to how Father had done the same with his own appendage to try and rip Greed's Philosopher's Stone out of the body he shared with Ling. It was so similar to how Pride had grasped at Al's Blood Rune that linked his soul to his armour, and tried to manipulate Al's very body and soul.

It was only through sheer luck that they had managed to escape. Thankfully, Al realised just what his plan was, and deconstructed a small section of the ground beneath their feet to allow their escape while their enemies' sight was still obscured. They had quickly formed the cavern deeper under the ground that they were now hiding in, before sealing the entrance shut with alchemy, carefully leaving as little a trace of any transmutation marks as possible. Hopefully, their escape would continue going off without a hitch.

Then, there was the matter that the woman they saved had a similar feeling to the one who attacked her, only an order of magnitude weaker. Still, there was no denying the fact that she seemed as though to house _multiple souls_, from what he now knew about chi, or at least some energy source within her, almost like a Philosopher's Stone.

It did at least explain how the scary woman managed to seemingly bypass the principle of equivalent exchange, conjuring fireballs from nothing as she'd done. All that energy had to have come from… _whatever_ this energy source was.

"_Al,"_ Edward finally dared to whisper after what felt like several minutes, and even then his volume was kept as low as possible. "_Are you still there?"_

"_Yeah," _he matched his volume. "_Think it's safe yet?"_

Ed stilled his breathing, straining his ears carefully, but they were _very _far underground. Better to be safe than sorry.

"_Let's give it a few more minutes," _he whispered. "_Any idea how's the girl?"_

Al fumbled around in the dark for a few seconds, before replying.

"_She's still alive, but it looks bad. I'm not sure she's going to make it –"_

Al broke off mid-sentence, the words catching in his throat (what he had of one, anyway).

Damn. That wasn't good.

"_We have to risk it, then. I'll deconstruct; you get ready to seal us back in and escape if they're still around."_

Without waiting for his brother's reply, Ed clapped his hands, felt that familiar sensation of energy circulating within himself, and reached out toward the rock above his head.

Even though the light of the evening sun was nowhere as bright as it could be, he still had to close his eyes tightly when the straight vertical shaft was connected once more to the surface.

A second passed, and then another.

The fact that no one seemed to be reacting suggested that those freaky enemies of theirs had left.

He heard Al clap his hands, as the ground beneath them rose up to join the surface world. In that time, at least, his eyes adjusted to the light. Right, then. Time for the matter at hand. He gestured for his brother to lay the girl down.

The moment they got a good look at her face, both of them couldn't help but gasp.

The majority of her face was heavily scarred, and it was clear from the blood running down her back and soaking through her clothes that one of the arrows from the possible homunculus-but-not woman had pierced her in the back.

"It's not good," Ed said immediately, looking over her injuries. He was no doctor or master of bio-alchemy, but it didn't take a genius to deduce that. The fact that they now at least had some idea of what this _chi_ the Xingese always harped on about certainly helped, since hers was rapidly weakening by the moment. Quickly, he transmuted a small section of his cloak into a bandage, applying pressure over her wound to stop the bleeding.

"It doesn't make sense," Al frantically said, as he studied her injured form. "She's severely wounded, but she's not injured enough to explain this, and she's not healing even though she's got that Philosopher's Stone or whatever energy source it is within her…"

So Al noticed that too, huh? Ed was glad to know that it wasn't just him being crazy.

_Wait… if she's got a Philosopher's Stone, or at least the equivalent of such…_

Father couldn't contain the power of the Eye of God once Hohenheim sprung his reverse transmutation circle and freed the souls of the millions of Amestrians he'd forcefully taken…

"Her body can't contain it!" he deduced aloud.

"What?" Al whirled to face him.

"Her soul – I tried using that strange soul transmutation we used earlier, to block the fireball the crazy lady sent at me – I noticed that it took up some of this energy…" he explained hurriedly. "If Truth gave us this, because the crazy people of this world _all_ know how to use it, then whatever energy is left in her soul has to be drained… and if that lady _was_ stealing this Philosopher's Stone or whatever it was from her, then what remains in her can't be stable –"

"And this power is only going to drain it further," Al concluded. "It's killing her!"

A reasonable hypothesis, and one that they could work on. The question, then, was what came _next_?

To any scientist, it was simple.

"We need to get it out of her."

"But _how_?" Al asked, clear desperation in his voice. "We need to save her!"

There was no telling whether or not she was even someone they could trust, given that their run-ins with homunculi were unpleasant more often than not, but they couldn't simply let her die. Even if Ed tried, he doubted Al would let him stand idly by.

Back to Al's question, then. They needed to take it out of her body, but they weren't exactly homunculi who could do that.

Think… _think…_

If this was a Philosopher's Stone, he could just –

Right.

"I'll take it out," he said, gesturing for Al to stand aside as he knelt down over her body.

"How?"

"I'll transmute myself into a one-man Philosopher's Stone, enter _her_ body, rip that power out, and reconstruct myself into a human."

It wasn't often he could get stunned silence out of Al, so he would cherish this chance he had.

"You can _do_ that?"

"I did it against Pride, earlier," he said. It _had _to work. "Let's hope that's not a one-off thing, eh?"

Without any further words, he clapped his hands, and felt the energy stemming from tectonic movements far beneath the earth circulate all around him as the circle was closed. He pictured just _exactly_ what he had done just hours ago, how his very life and soul was but an energy form, and then he acted.

The moment his palm came into contact with her skin, he felt himself being disassembled, everything that was _Edward Elric_ still remaining so, although in an entirely different form. He wasn't in the middle of a road anymore.

This wasn't the stream of souls that was Pride and his Philosopher's Stone, but it was similar enough. The body of the woman lay unconscious – was her soul _that_ weakened? – and just beside her, latched onto the metaphysical representation of her soul, was what Ed could only describe as _energy_.

It seemed both similar and different to a Philosopher's Stone. Where a Stone was composed of multiple souls, this was a single entity, and yet somehow still gave the feeling of being _segmented_ and built from multiple pieces. It wasn't whole, and yet it _was_; it was singular, and yet it was multiple. It wasn't tortured like a Stone, but it felt alive_,_ demanding for its power to be used and unleashed.

It was a series of contradictions, not just of alchemical science but of logic of the world itself, but he didn't have the time to bode over those thoughts right now.

"Here goes nothing…"

He reached out, grabbing at it as he had done with Pride's Stone, and yanked at it hard.

There was heavy resistance from the energy source, but Ed wasn't about to give up to a damned thing like this. He'd crushed Pride's Philosopher's Stone just hours ago.

Compared to that, this was nothing. Were it still whole, it might have proved a challenge, but much like Pride's Stone back in Father's lair this was already weakened and a mere fragment of its former self.

He felt it giving way, felt his transmuted form being expelled from her body as he tugged hard at the energy source, and quickly prepared to reconstruct himself the very _instant_ that he exited.

"_Brother!"_

Al's cry told him that it worked. Once more, he was in the middle of the road, alongside a severely injured stranger and his worried brother.

"It worked, I think," he assured Al. "Look."

Carefully, he inspected the stone that he'd retrieved from within the lady's body. It was a dull yellow, mixed with a slight tinge of orange, altogether unlike the blood-red of a Philosopher's Stone. Whatever it was, it clearly was not the same as the Crimson Tincture.

There was no denying the power it contained, however. He knew without a doubt that its power rivalled that of Envy's Philosopher's Stone that he once used as a toll to open the Portal of Truth.

"That was inside her?" Al gasped, then shook his head. "No, we don't time for this right now! Quick, she's still injured!"

Right. Priorities. Hastily, he pocketed the strange crystalline object. They could study it later.

"I don't know much about medical alchemy, but she's still in rough shape," Ed said, inspecting her injuries. She was still actively bleeding, and his instincts told him that she wasn't yet out of harm's way. His only experience with medical alchemy was stopping his own bleeding that one time he'd been about to die. "Do you think we should –"

"We have to try!" Al's determined voice interrupted his question. "We can't just sit by and do nothing!"

Metal gauntlets came into contact with one another, as the blue arcs of energy that marked a transmutation circle manifested around Al's armoured form. Gently, he laid both his palms on the woman's abdomen, carefully transmuting the biological elements of her body in a way that would help stop the bleeding.

Ed remained silent, watching his brother from the side so as not to distract them both. He knew precisely how annoyingly complex it was transmuting organic materials without dwelling toofar in the realm of bio-alchemy and entering the realm of human transmutation.

Al was altering the structure of fibrin threads, polymerising them without directing influencing the _living_ cells of the woman. Scaffolds of protein were being reshaped into surfaces for the attachment of the mesh-like network that could stop the bleeding, all without directly transmuting the platelets and blood cells being caught up into his net.

Compared to what he was doing, Scar's deconstructive alchemy was by far simpler. All that the Ishvalan had to do was deconstruct structural elements supporting the body, and it would naturally fall apart.

There was a reason why bio-alchemists were so rare. Not only was it ridiculously complicated dealing with the molecules large and small within the human body, it all had to be done without accidentally performing the Taboo and creating life. Thankfully, Al was always the one with more attention to fine detail between them both, even if his transmutations lacked a certain personal flair.

"I've stopped the bleeding now, I – I think," Al finally said, the blue light fading from the transmutation circle. Still, he sounded worried and unconvinced. "We need to get her to a doctor."

"Right." Ed took a quick look around. Beyond what remained of their alchemy from the fight before, he couldn't see anyone else still around. "Let's follow the road, and find somewhere we can get help."

His brother nodded, carefully cradling the woman in both hands. He may have fixed her injuries, but she still seemed fragile and vulnerable. Ed performed a series of simple transmutations, deconstructing the more – well, _tacky_ leftovers from their fight.

"Let's move."

With that, they continued along the road hastily, keeping an eye out for more of those damned not-homunculi and insane people capable of both soul transmutation and utilising the power of the not-Stone now kept within Ed's pocket.

-o-o-o-


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3!**

* * *

"Here's what we know."

Sheets of paper were laid out haphazardly on a table within a small room. With the bed housing a still-unconscious stranger, there was just barely enough room left for Al and Ed to manoeuvre around.

Thankfully, the first village they'd come across recognised the injured lady, although none of them knew her name. She'd apparently been travelling on a white horse days before, stopping for the night in the inn that they now stayed in. A doctor had briefly taken a look at her injuries, did _something_ with a device Ed and Al had never seen before, promptly proclaimed that something known as her 'Aura' was low but recovering, and reassured them both that she would be up in a matter of days.

The villagers and the doctor had asked curiously whether or not they were 'Huntsmen', and they had artfully steered the conversation away from that topic they knew nothing about. Much like how no one ever truly believed their flimsy excuses as to why Al wore his armour back in Amestris, the people of this world seemed to be too polite to question them.

Heh. At least that was something both worlds had in common. Ed didn't think he could deal with more batshit insane differences between them, after the creatures that attacked them and the strange trio that had tried to kill the lady.

Hopefully, said lady had the money to pay for the doctor's expenses and for their present lodging within the inn, because neither of them had any of the local currency to their name. He doubted _cens_ was an accepted method of payment here.

They _could_ transmute some gold, given that they technically weren't bound by Amestrian law here, but neither of them knew if gold carried the same value here.

"The homunculi-like soulless creatures that we fought are known as Grimm," Al spoke, snapping Ed out of his thoughts. "They're a normal part of this world."

"Huntsmen act to protect the people from the Grimm," Ed continued, pointing to some of the coded notes they had written up. Much like their personal alchemical research, they weren't about to take any chances here. "What we thought was soul transmutation is known to this world as 'Aura', and it helps them protect themselves, fight against Grimm and recover their injuries."

Contextually, they'd picked up a bit of knowledge about Remnant from when they'd eavesdropped upon some of the other patrons of the inn. Someone had spoken of a bunch of Grimm prowling around the nearby roads and ambushing travellers, and put up a notice for 'Huntsmen' to put them down. Aura took a little more digging, but a handy brochure found in the doctor's office told them all they needed to know.

And wasn't that a crazy thought? To think that there was an entire organisation of individuals capable of using soul transmutation… it made them both seem like novices, despite being among some of the most accomplished alchemists in Amestris – his State Alchemist title wasn't just for show, after all. One thing was for sure: they needed to learn more about what this Aura was, exactly, and if it held any clues as to how they could obtain their original bodies back.

From what little research they had done, they learned about something called a 'Semblance', which were apparently special abilities tied to a Huntsman's Aura. Very convenient for them, since they could play off their alchemy as being a hereditary Semblance, what with both of them being brothers.

"Alchemy doesn't exist here, at least not in the way that we know it. People make use of Dust – a type of substance that doesn't match any known element back home, that contains a diverse range of volatile and potent effects."

He gestured toward the canisters of white and red powdery substance placed a respectful distance away. They had found it on the tip of the staff that the lady carried, took it around with them, and had been promptly scolded by the inn's proprietor for carelessly waving around volatile Dust in a crowded area.

Since then, both of them had been furiously trying to find out as much about Dust as they could, since it was virtually every alchemist's dream.

Unlike other materials and substances, Dust was _equivalence_ driven to the extreme. Fire Dust could combust to give flame, Ice Dust could freeze, Wind Dust could somehow generate wind, Lightning Dust gave lightning, and many more forms of Dust existed.

What they wanted to know was _how._ The Law of Natural Providence stated that an object made of a particular material could only be transmuted into an object sharing a similar chemical makeup or properties. _How_ could Lightning Dust possibly ionise the air, or do whatever it was it did to generate a sufficiently large electrical charge to create actual lightning?

One thing for sure, though, was that they weren't about to attempt transmutation on that any time soon, at least until they had a better grasp of what Dust was. The slightest mistake in equivalence could cause a rebound, and with how volatile Dust was, the slightest of imbalances and fluctuations could be catastrophic.

Once they learned how to use it, however, it would probably be safe to say that they were going to buy a metric crapload of it. If – no, _when_ they got back to Amestris, he was going to show off what he could do with it to the colonel. He couldn't wait to see the look on Mustang's face when he replicated his Flame Alchemy with Fire Dust.

"No one that we asked knew who the ones who attacked us were," Al continued. "The girl I fought looked almost like an Ishvalan, with red eyes and dark skin, while the boy had automail legs."

Ed felt something stirring in him at those words. He wished he could have seen how that boy fought, if only so he could adapt a thing or two. From what Al had told him, he'd barely been able to hold his own because he'd sparred with Ed many times over and knew how to deal with automail, but the boy had apparently been tougher to face than Ed.

There were times in the fight when the girl looked to be doing something beyond firing her weapons, but curiously Al never noticed anything out of the ordinary. In fact, Al had remarked that she seemed almost surprised that whatever it was she tried doing didn't work.

"The one I fought possessed a similar power to this stone," Ed followed up, subtly gesturing toward where it was being concealed in his clothes. "It's not quite a Philosopher's Stone, but it bears many similarities. Whether or not it's really a soul is still unclear."

They had both agreed that they would never use the object to return their original bodies, at least not until they knew for sure that it wasn't created with the blood of innocent lives much like the Philosopher's Stone. Besides, they didn't know whether or not it was even capable of being used as payment for the required transmutation.

Truth couldn't possibly have arranged things so easily for them. Knowing that bastard, he was getting a kick watching them both attempt to make sense of this world.

"With its power, she seemed to be able to bypass equivalent exchange. More than likely, the storm and the fire that we saw right after we fought the Grimm was powered by it," he continued. "Like the barriers of energy that Father and Hohenheim were capable of generating with their Stones, its energy may be able to be transmuted directly into another form, beyond just the creation of matter."

How was equivalence preserved in that case? If it was a soul or part of one, how much power could it be traded for?

One thing for sure, though, was that neither of them could find any reference to Philosopher's Stones in the few books they found in the inn, or anything close to what they were describing. Huntsmen, Aura, Dust and Grimm frequently came up, but there was no mention of such a power.

"Mmhmm," Al hummed in agreement, briefly looking over their notes once more. "That's about as far as we've gotten so far. We've got some clues to look into for research, but nothing concrete about how we can get our bodies back."

It had been three days since they'd found the village and got the woman looked at. According to the doctor, she should be starting to stir at any time. They would need to make sure to be there once she woke up, but they had to be careful not to let her hear of their discussion. There was no telling whether or not she could be trusted, even if she had been attacked by someone else seeking to steal her power by force.

They had agreed to probe at her and determine whether or not she could be trusted. If she was honest with them, they could reveal some things in return, and see if she might be able to help them out with their goal of getting their bodies back. Otherwise, their secret was far too big to be divulged.

It had been a long time since they'd had to keep the secret of how they had lost their original bodies. Now, with the added second layer of having to hide the fact that they arrived from another _world_, they were both feeling apprehensive about it all.

"She's still not awake, huh?" Al said solemnly, as they both stared at the sleeping form of the stranger. "I hope I didn't mess up my medical alchemy –"

"We both know you did it perfectly, Al," Ed corrected firmly, staring at his brother. "The doctor said she should be up any moment now. Your medical alchemy probably saved her life."

"I don't know –" The glare that Ed shot him promptly silenced the younger brother. "I guess…" Al took a look at the lady for a moment longer, before turning to face Ed. "You should get some food. You already skipped lunch, earlier."

"I told you, I'm not –" A traitorous growl from his belly chose that moment to make its presence known. Al tilted his head slightly, and though his expression didn't change, he knew that Al was smirking at him.

Ah, damn it.

"Fine, fine," he acquiesced, standing up and covering his automail arm under his long cloak. "I won't be gone long."

"Don't worry. I'll look after her."

Ed sighed. Looking after her was all Al had done for the past few days. Even the research he did had been done half-heartedly, and Ed knew that his brother was worried for the woman. Hopefully, she'd awaken soon and put his worries to rest.

Now, then. How could he convince the inn's proprietor to put another meal on the tab they'd started under the injured woman's name?

He really, _really_ hoped she could pay, because the innkeeper was already grumbling about being short-changed on Lien.

-o-o-o-

_The threads attached to her face. She struggled, desperately attempting to call upon her Aura to throw the two teenagers holding her down aside, but every bit of her Aura was completely spent. It was futile. _

_Her pleas fell on deaf ears. Her attacker stepped nearer, and she felt sheer terror welling up within her at the death she knew was about to come. A twisted smile spread across her assailant's face._

_A Grimm she had never seen before appeared out of nowhere, resting in the palm of her attacker's hand. Her thrashing intensified, but it was all for naught._

_Within moments, all she felt was pain. Agony._

_She felt the Maiden's power being taken from her; an accursed power she had never asked for and yet had robbed her of all freedom. It was because of this power that she had been moulded into a Huntress, made to fight and be chained as yet another pawn in the shadow war fought between Ozpin and Salem. _

_It was because of this power that she would die._

_She felt herself slipping away. The pain never once faded, but darkness was starting to encroach on her vision. She tried to smile bitterly at the unfairness of it all, but she was denied even that much._

_She – _

She gasped, bolting upright in bed.

A second later, she regretted that decision. Her entire body ached in a way she hadn't felt before.

"Woah! Brother, she's awake!" a voice reached her ears.

Her attackers! She reacted immediately, reaching over to grab at her staff to deal with them –

Where was her _staff_?

"Hey, easy now!" She blinked, at the sight of a blonde-haired boy quickly stepping over toward her bed. By his side, a Huntsman within a large suit of armour that left not a single bit of his skin exposed did likewise. "You're safe now. No one's going to attack you, okay?"

…why was she in bed?

What in all of Remnant had happened?

"Where am I? Who are you?" Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. Hah. They really did a number on her, huh?

Still… she was alive…

But _why?_ Had these two rescued her?

"Edward Elric, and this is my younger brother Alphonse." The armoured one gave a slight shy bow that looked completely out of place for one of his stature. "We're in a village called… uh…"

He turned to look at his – wait, did he say _younger_ brother?

Why was he so much shorter if he was the older one?

"We're not sure," Edward said, his face flushed. "We didn't bother to check. Some of the locals recognised you, though, and said you'd been here before."

That had to have been the village she stayed at before she'd gotten ambushed. If so, she was still in Vale.

It didn't make sense. How could these two boys have fended off her attackers on their own? This Edward Elric barely looked older than a teenager!

"You fought them off?" she asked weakly. "They tried to –"

She stopped herself mid-speech. That was close. She had almost spoken of the Maiden's power.

Wait…

Her power…

Where _was _it?

She felt a rush of panic, but forced herself to calm down quickly enough. She needed to think it over logically.

Alright. The Fall Maiden's power was stolen from her. They could have achieved that with that Grimm that her attacker used. She must have been saved by these two before they could finish her off.

"Is something wrong?" Alphonse asked worriedly. His voice _really_ didn't suit someone dressed in thick, bulky armour like that.

"No," she denied immediately. "What… what happened?"

"Long story short?" Edward shrugged. "We tried fighting the ones that attacked you, got our asses kicked, and promptly ran away. It was a miracle we got you out of there."

"You _fought_ them?" Her body twitched involuntarily, and she had to calm herself down once more. "_You_? You two can't be older than training academy students!"

"Oi! Who are you calling little?!" Edward responded immediately, stepping closer to her bed. She tensed instinctively at the unexpected movement.

"Calm down, brother!" Alphonse urged, restraining his brother. "You know she didn't mean that!"

Edward huffed angrily, but retreated to a more comfortable distance away from Amber.

"Sorry about that," the younger brother said apologetically. "Big brother's just a little sensitive about his height –"

"I'M NOT SHORT!"

"- but he means well, really! More importantly, how are you feeling?"

Even though she couldn't see Alphonse's face, his voice was laced with worry and concern for her wellbeing.

"I'm alright, I think," she said slowly. Her Aura had regenerated slightly. It was still low, but nowhere close to completely shattered as it had been from the surprise attack. "I'll be fine in a while."

"That's good," Alphonse said, relieved. "That's good. I thought that I –"

"Al." Edward cut in, silencing his brother with a tone of warning.

What had he been about to say? They were keeping something from her, but they had also saved her life –

"It's been three days since then," Alphonse diverted the conversation away, bringing her up to speed. "We've been holed up in the inn while looking after you."

Three days. That was too long a time. Her attackers had to be on the hunt for them.

"We're going to have to ask you some questions now, lady," Edward said seriously, a complete contrast to how he'd been previously.

"Ed! She's still injured!"

"We need to know what's going on, in case those three come after her again," he countered, and Alphonse stiffened. "I don't think they'll fall for the same trick a second time."

_Those_ three. So they really fought them, then.

And from the sound of it, they only just barely escaped with their lives.

So, even with the Maiden's power taken from her, it still remained a curse. She owed them some explanation, at least.

More importantly, if those that attacked her were still around, all three of them wouldn't be safe anymore. They needed to leave as soon as possible.

How could she go about this?

"What do you want to know?" she finally asked.

"For starters, how about your name and why they're trying to kill you?"

"My name is Amber," she answered. That was easy enough. The rest, though… "As for why… they… they want something from me."

"Something?" Edward prompted, after she'd been silent for too long.

"I… I can't say," she reluctantly told them. This was for the best. They couldn't learn of the whole truth and be dragged into this more than they already were. "I'm sorry."

"Is that all you can tell us?" Edward spoke angrily. "That crazy lazy and her friends almost killed us both, and you can't give us anything more than that?"

"Brother!" Alphonse hurriedly interjected.

The pair exchanged a look. Amber regretted that she _couldn't _tell them more, but she steadfastly convinced herself that this was for the best.

"Fine," Edward said, his eyes shut tight, before slowly opening them as he exhaled. "Fine. Other questions, then."

"Please, ask them," she hurriedly continued, thinking over how to get them all out of their present predicament, all the while trying to make sense of just what had happened since then.

"I take it you're a Huntress?"

"Yes."

"The Dust on your staff – can we take some of them?" he asked quickly, the words rushing out of his lips.

Amber raised an eyebrow at the odd question. It was a strange request, but if that was all they wanted, purchasing more Dust cartridges would be more than easy. Besides, she owed them for saving her life.

"Be my guest," she said.

"Sweet!" Edward cheered with a glint in his eye, before quickly curbing his enthusiasm.

…just who were these two teenagers?

"We found this on your clothes, as well," Alphonse said, pointing to the Scroll by her bedside. "We weren't sure what to do with it."

"You don't have a Scroll?" she asked, blinking in surprise.

Seriously? Didn't training academies provide them for free, even if they never had one previously?

"Uhh…" the brothers exchanged guilty glances, before Edward coughed politely. "Of course! A Scroll! It just looks different from what we're used to seeing, that's all!"

This was very suspicious, but in an altogether different direction from where her thoughts had been previously. There was no way these could be her assassins.

"A- anyway!" Alphonse stammered. "We made sure to keep your Scroll safe. We didn't want to risk your blood soaking through and damaging it."

Wait, her blood?

She glanced down at her clothes.

…they weren't the same ones she had been wearing.

These were bright red and yellow, a stark contrast to her favoured brown and dull orange outfit.

"You changed my clothes?!" she burst out. Sure, she could understand why, but still…

"We didn't see anything!" Alphonse hurriedly denied. "Your clothes were a mess, and we couldn't just put you on the bed like that, so we… you know…"

She couldn't see his face, but it was clear that he was becoming embarrassed. These _definitely_ weren't cold-blooded killers.

In that case, she could tease them a little.

"Oh? What _did _you see, then?"

Alphonse made some spluttered sounds. Ah, these kids were too innocent.

"D- don't joke around!" Even Edward seemed flushed. "Of course we didn't see anything! We changed your clothes with alc – with our Semblance!"

"Your Semblance?"

Seriously? A Semblance that changed clothes?

That sounded remarkably unimpressive, except in the hands of some kind of pervert.

Edward didn't answer. Instead, he clapped his hands, then quickly placed his left palm on the wooden frame of the bed.

Sparks of blue light emanated around his hand, and she couldn't help but tense up. Instinctively, her hand twitched over to where her staff would normally be secured, but came back empty.

"Our Semblance," Edward proclaimed, pointing over to the bed frame. "Transmutation."

She gaped, as where previously a wooden frame had been, now there was a small, ornate carving of a bird jutting out from the side.

"That's magic!" she couldn't help but blurt out.

Edward scoffed. "Magic? Don't be stupid. There's no such thing as magic."

_Yes, there was_, she privately thought, but she wasn't about to divulge something like that to these kids, even if they had saved her.

"Our Semblance relies on equivalent exchange," Alphonse said helpfully. "By understanding the makeup of an object, we can deconstruct and reconstruct it."

_Our _Semblance? Two brothers with the exact same Semblance? Hereditary Semblances were rare, and siblings with completely identical ones rarer still. How had she never heard of a Semblance like this before?

Huh. Now that she saw knew what to look for, the frame did seem slightly thinner than it had been. That sounded fairly versatile, but she had no idea how it fared in combat.

Better than clothes removal, at least.

"Any chance you could change my clothes back?"

"What's wrong with how it looks now?" Edward asked, confused.

"It's uh… kind of _gaudy, _don't you think? The colours don't agree with me."

"You – what?! I'll have you know that –"

"Come on, brother," Alphonse sighed. Amber got the feeling that this was something he was intimately familiar with. "Just stay still, Miss Amber."

Miss? What a polite child.

…his armour really didn't suit him.

He clapped his hands, laid a gauntleted palm on her abdomen, and miraculously her clothes began to change before her eyes.

"…Wow," she breathed. Sure, she'd seen people alter the appearance of their clothes with Dust, and she was probably capable of doing the same, but this was something different altogether. "Thank you."

"It's no problem, Miss Amber," Alphonse bowed slightly, his voice shy.

_Ah… how cute. _

"Why are you wearing that armour indoors, anyway?" she asked curiously. "Surely you don't expect Grimm to attack right now?"

She knew she asked the wrong question, because their posture immediately became guarded. Where Edward had been friendly before, albeit a little heated, his eyes were now cold and carefully scrutinising her.

"Why're you asking?" Edward spoke, his tone harsh.

Damn. Her and her big mouth.

"You don't have to say," she assured them, backtracking. "I'm sorry if I offended you. Thank you very much, Alphonse."

"Don't worry, Miss Amber." Alphonse tried to reassure her, but it was clear that something had struck a nerve. "It's okay."

Man, now she felt bad.

"Let's talk about more important things," Edward said, returning to seriousness once more. "Do you think those three will still be after you?"

"Absolutely." There was no way that Salem or her underlings would leave any loose ends. Even if she no longer had the Maiden's power, she was under no delusion that they would try and kill her.

"Damn. And here I thought our days of dealing with stuff like these were over," Edward joked weakly to his brother.

Just what did they _mean? _More importantly, though –

"You two need to leave," she urged them. "If they come after me again, I can't let you get dragged into this –"

"And what, leave you here all by yourself?" Edward countered, then snorted. "You look like you can barely stand as it is now, lady."

"We can't just leave you alone, Miss Amber," Alphonse agreed, his voice worried once more.

"You don't understand!" she said with a tinge of frustration. "I'm grateful that you saved me life, but those three aren't going to be the only ones after me. If you're dragged into all this, you'll get yourselves killed, or worse!"

For a few seconds, there was silence.

"Just what is it they're after, Miss Amber?"

"…I can't tell you that."

Again, the brothers exchanged looks, then subtly nodded at each other. Good, at least they were smart enough to save themselves and not get dragged into this mess –

"We're staying."

"_What?!" _she burst out. "Didn't you listen to what I said? They're going to kill you! You two barely know me!"

"We know," Edward continued saying, his voice calm. "I take it that the crazy lady isn't going to pull her punches the next time we meet. Our little escape trick probably won't work again. Even then, we can't just sit by and let them get you while you're defenceless. Sorry, lady, but that's just not how we handle things."

"…what he said, Miss Amber."

Both brothers glared at her, daring her to argue.

"Damn it," she swore under her breath. From the look in Edward's eyes, she knew that there was going to be no convincing them to change their course of action. She hated people like these.

…she was one of them herself. She had chosen to escape from Ozpin's protection, because he wanted nothing more than to keep her constrained within Beacon's walls at the cost of her freedom.

Damn kids. They were going to make her do something very stupid.

Looks like she was going to have to make contact with Ozpin after all. Those two kids needed protection.

Not yet, however. She would wait until the two boys were asleep. They didn't need to hear of some of these secrets.

"…hey, Edward, Alphonse?"

"Huh?"

"Thank you. Really."

"Don't worry about it, Miss Amber." Alphonse quickly waved her thanks aside. "We're just glad you're alright."

"Besides, you might not be so thankful after hearing what we're telling you next," Edward continued, his smile slightly strained with embarrassment.

"What is it?"

"…we told the doctor and the innkeeper you'll be paying all the bills."

…well… that was a problem…

Yeah, looks like she'd be calling Ozpin for help after all.

-o-o-o-

After five years of living inside his metal body, Alphonse still wasn't used to the lack of normal physiological processes that came alongside it. He doubted that it would ever _feel_ normal.

It was why he so fervently wanted his original body back.

There were advantages to it, of course, but each blessing came with a curse. He didn't need to breathe, but he could never taste. His body was stronger than a regular human's, but he had to be extremely careful with his movements.

He didn't tire, but he could never _sleep_. No matter how much he tried, no matter how long he remained still and allowed his mind to dull, his body would never fall into unconsciousness; not without tampering with his soul as Pride had done through the Blood Rune.

And so, now, after Ed had already drifted off into sleep, he noticed how Miss Amber slowly glanced over at them both and stared at them for a long while. He remained silent, utterly unmoving, as she slowly stepped away from her bed, moving slowly so as to make as little sound as possible.

She grabbed her Scroll from the table placed beside her bed, and left the room quietly.

Alphonse listened carefully, but didn't dare move from where he lay down on the ground. Huntresses were supposed to be exquisitely perceptive, and he didn't want to give himself away. They needed to know whether or not Miss Amber could be trusted.

She'd been kind enough to them, urging them to leave and abandon her to save themselves. They, of course, refused to hear any word of it. There was no way he and Ed could ever abandon someone like that, after everyone they had already lost.

Still, she'd made no mention of the Stone that Ed managed to retrieve from within her body. They had both noticed the look of shock and surprise she had given shortly after waking up, and how she was reluctant to share any information of just what it was that her attackers sought. They, in turn, decided to play it safe, and not share any further information regarding their predicament or that the Stone was in their possession.

"_Ozpin_." He heard Amber's muffled voice from through the wall.

Pause.

"_Yes – yes, I'm alive – no – wait, Qrow?" _That last word was spoken more loudly, and she paused momentarily. Alfonse heard the door open briefly, as she snuck a peek in to make sure she hadn't woken them up, before quietly closing it once more.

Hmm. That was close. Lucky he hadn't decided to move closer to listen more clearly.

"_Qrow came to look for me? Well, never mind that. Listen – they took it – no, listen to me; they took it, I can't use it anymore. They took it away."_

Pause. Alphonse could hear the other party talking urgently, but the words were indistinct.

"_She summoned a Grimm from her glove, somehow. The Grimm shot black threads at me, and I could feel the power being siphoned out of me. It was… it was horrible. I think I almost died."_

Alphonse shivered slightly as he remembered that sight. Yes, _horrible_ certainly was the only way to describe it, especially when he had experienced something close enough to it himself. He wouldn't forget how Pride forced his tendrils through his armour, slithering around him, and then going so far as to disrupt his Blood Rune and temporarily disrupt his control over his body.

What Amber felt couldn't have been the least bit pleasant.

"_I was saved by two boys. Yes – what, how? They almost died, but they say they used their Semblance to escape, helped stabilise my wounds a little on the field, and then brought me to a nearby village to recover."_

Hah. Seemed like she really bought into their story. Brother had really managed to sell their alchemy as a Semblance.

"_Listen, Ozpin, I know we don't exactly have the best working relationship, but I'd like to call in a favour. You owe me."_

Alphonse tensed. This wasn't something she had discussed with them both.

"_Wait, what? How'd you know?" _She seemed surprised. "_Am I that easy to read?"_

Pause.

"_Qrow said that – ah, who cares about that drunkard. Listen, the ones who came after me will be hunting these boys down as well. I need your word that you will protect them."_

…what?

"_Yes, yes; I know what this means. They'll keep coming after me too, powers or not."_

Pause.

"_Yes, I'll tag along," _she sighed, grumbling slightly. "_Not much chance of freedom now, anyway, with them hunting after me. You better have a place in Beacon for these boys, Ozpin. You owe me."_

She wanted _them_ to go to this 'Beacon' place? What even was that?

"_That's not my secret to tell. You can ask them when you see them in person."_

Pause.

"_Uhh… I may have neglected discussing about that with the boys – but don't worry, don't worry. They're practically Huntsmen-in-training, and they're the right age... I think. The shorty can't possibly be too old to go to school. Besides, knowing them, they'll want to see Beacon's library for themselves. You should see the room we're in, I don't think I've seen kids their age read that many books at once."_

…did she say books?

That changed _everything._

He hoped, for her sake, that Ed didn't hear the bit where she called him short.

"_Oh… umm… about that…" _she said sheepishly. "_I'm kind of a little low on Lien… and, uh… I may need just a teeny little bit of help paying for the bills here – oh, come on, help me out, won't you?"_

A slightly longer pause.

"_Thanks, Ozpin. Wait, Qrow?" _She groaned. "_Fine, fine. I'll send you the location – wait, tomorrow afternoon? That's a little short notice, I'm not sure if I can get them to agree that easily – what do you mean, that's my job? Come on Ozpin, I'm an injured Huntress over here!"_

After a few more attempts at pleading, she finally acquiesced. "_Alright, fine. I'll convince them once they wake up. Can you _please_, for the love of the Brothers, remind Qrow to make a good impression? Alright, then. See you soon, Ozpin."_

She sighed heavily, and Alphonse knew it was time to return to feigning being fast asleep. The door opened slightly, as she stepped in and closed it behind herself. He could practically sense her glancing over at him and Ed where they slept on the floor, but thankfully didn't comment on anything.

It was only once she'd already lay back down on her bed that he allowed himself to mull over what he'd just eavesdropped.

So this Beacon was a school for Huntsmen, then? And they had a massive library, and the one that Miss Amber had talked to seemed to know a lot about just what the Stone they now possessed was?

The decision was a no-brainer. Sure, there were risks, but what could ever be achieved without sacrifice? They'd certainly pursued far less credible leads at much greater peril before.

Yes, he was convinced that Ed would agree. If nothing else, having a library to research more on Dust would be useful. They could always drop out or run away afterward.

-o-o-o-

"The only reason why we're agreeing to this is because of the library," Ed repeated for the fourth time. "Once we're done with the research we want to do, we're dropping right out of this school."

Pssh. _School._ They hadn't gone to school, before, even back in Resembool. Sure, they interacted with the other kids in the village occasionally, back before the aftermath of war had left their homes destitute, but there wasn't much that they couldn't learn just by reading. Lessons in schools were simply too slow to be efficient.

"Yeah, yeah. We've got it the first time you told us," Amber sighed, then smirked. "Trust me, though; once you get to Beacon, you'll wish you never have to leave."

Ed still wasn't sure whether or not Amber could be trusted. Al seemed to trust her implicitly, at least to a reasonable degree, but he wasn't quite sure _why. _He would need to ask Al about that once they got some privacy.

"Where's this contact of yours, anyway?"

He looked around the inn once more. For mid-day, it sure wasn't as crowded as the ones he'd been in back in Central. This village didn't see much traffic, he supposed, as evidenced by the fact that Grimm prowled the nearby vicinity. He doubted that it was quite so insecure in major cities.

"He should be on his way," Amber said, flustered, then checked her Scroll once more. "Honestly, it's like that damned Qrow wants to show up late on purpose."

These Scrolls were really useful inventions. From what he could tell, they not only doubled up as communications tools, but also allowed for the monitoring of Aura (how something like that could be accomplished, he had no idea), as well as various other useful utilities. If they had those back in Amestris, things would have been much, much easier.

He really couldn't wait to get his hands on one of those.

"You sure you really want to do this, Al?" he asked his brother instead.

"Yeah," he affirmed immediately, giving him a subtle look. To anyone else who didn't know how to read Al's expressions, it wouldn't have meant anything, but after having been with Al in his armoured body for that long, Ed could understand him immediately.

That look meant '_I know something but I can't tell you now, talk later'._ It was something he'd come to learn over the years.

"Fine, then," he said, tugging on the red cloak that hid his automail arm. Al's body couldn't exactly be hidden, but he hoped their usual excuse of being overly enthusiastic over knight costumes would work here.

Who knows, maybe there _were_ Huntsmen running around with thick armour like Al.

"Finally! He's here!" Amber told them, then waved over at someone else who had just entered the inn. "Hey! Qrow! Over here!"

…_this_ was Amber's contact?

As far as first impressions went, Ed could say he wasn't impressed.

The man's appearance was unruly, his hair and beard dishevelled. He walked with a slouch, yawning slightly as he made his way slowly over toward their group. By his hip was a flask, and Ed could easily guess what liquid lay within.

Still, though, there was no denying that he was a Huntsman. An unidentifiable weapon was strapped on his back – a sword, probably, based on the handle that he could see – and Ed noted how his eyes carefully studied him and Al, before he finally spoke.

"Well, you look like you've seen better days, Amber. Nice scar you've got there." He smirked, gesturing to his own face, ignoring how she bristled at that. "And these must be the two brats you told Ozpin about."

"These are Edward and Alphonse Elric," she confirmed, quickly hiding any offense she may have had to his unusual greeting. "They _saved my life, _Qrow."

She emphasised those few words, glaring pointedly at him. Ed snickered silently. It was one of those looks that Lieutenant Hawkeye would give the colonel whenever he was doing something particularly stupid, even for his usual self.

"So I've heard, so I've heard," the huntsman said easily, forestalling any further word she may have had with an open palm. "Thanks for that, kids." He looked them over once more, then raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Amber wasn't lying when she called you a shorty."

It took a second for the words to register.

_Did he just – _

"Who are you calling short enough to be crushed by a pea!" He whirled first on Qrow, and then back toward Amber, who was guiltily leaning away. "I'm _not _short!"

Damn it, he'd even grown a fair amount since he had his automail replaced back in Briggs! He was taller than Winry, even! The people of Remnant were the ones that were freakishly tall!

"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, short stuff."

"I told you –"

"Come on, brother –"

"Qrow, I thought I told Ozpin to tell you to play nice –"

"Alright, alright," Qrow said, a smirk on his face. "I won't call the brat small anymore. Happy, Amber?" Then, his face turned serious. "Enough of that. We're a little short on time. Oz has arranged for a bullhead to pick us up some distance away, and we'll head on over to Beacon. I'll pay the bill for your sad, broke little self, and we'll head off immediately."

"Understood," Amber said. "We've got all we need here, anyway."

She gestured over to her back, where her staff was strapped over her torso. Qrow raised an eyebrow, directing a silent question toward Ed and Al.

"They don't have weapons of their own – oh, you'll see later, I'm sure," she said, anticipating the follow-up question. He seemed intrigued, at that, but went over to the innkeeper to pay for their lodging. Amber sighed, and turned to face them both. "Sorry about that. Qrow can be a handful, sometimes."

"You're saying this guy works for the headmaster of this school?" Ed asked doubtfully. "No offense, but I'm not sure if it's really as great as you say it is, now."

"Qrow doesn't work as a professor. Thank the Brothers for that," she muttered the second half quickly. "He does some other odd jobs for Ozpin. Most of the teachers are sane, don't you worry."

She smiled softly at them both. Al giggled a little at the slight joke.

"I never asked before, but how old are you two, anyway?" Amber asked curiously.

He glanced over at Al for a moment, each of them nodding slightly.

"Sixteen."

"Fifteen."

"Huh. That's… somehow both a little older, and yet younger than I expected."

He got the feeling that she was somehow _hinting_ at his height deficiencies, but he would give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Is that a problem?"

"No," she denied, shaking her head. "Most Beacon students start at seventeen. You'll be a little young, but it's not something that hasn't been done before."

Considering that he'd become the youngest State Alchemist at the age of twelve, this probably wasn't going to be all that much of a big deal.

"Alright. Let's get a move on, kids." Qrow returned over by their side. "Bullhead's going to be parked in a clearing some distance away to avoid any undue attention from your attackers. From there, it'll be a straight trip to Beacon."

A 'Bullhead'? Just what was that? Some sort of exotic mount, or perhaps a vehicle?

Before even waiting for a response, he walked toward the exit, lazily gesturing for them to follow.

"How does he give the impression of both being dependable and lazy at the same time?" Ed marvelled, shaking his head, before starting to walk after the Huntsman.

"You want my advice? I've known Qrow for a few years, and I can safely say that it's best not to continue down that line of thought."

Al snorted slightly, the three of them trailing behind Qrow as they made their way out of the village.

Yeah… he missed the others back in Amestris (yes, even the colonel, he would grudgingly admit), but perhaps things weren't quite so bad being in Remnant after all.

-o-o-o-


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4, and the last of my initial upload batch!**

* * *

"What."

Amber turned at the flat tone, looking over toward Edward. The kid seemed remarkably bright, although part of that seemed to be derived from his Semblance. He was no Dust virtuoso, but he knew the composition and function of virtually any object she could think of when challenged by her as a way to kill time while they followed behind Qrow.

"Something wrong, Edward?"

"What is _this?"_

"It's… a Bullhead?" she asked in confusion. "It flies?"

"You're telling me that thing can _fly?"_ Alphonse gasped. He wasn't quite as chatty as Edward, but both brothers certainly shared the same intelligence. "How? How does it fly?"

"It's an airplane?" she continued, bewildered. Just why were they so surprised?

"Where in Remnant did you pick these kids up from, Amber?" Qrow said, chuckling. "Sure, Bullheads aren't quite so common out in the outskirts, but I never thought it possible that a kid your age wouldn't have seen a Bullhead before. Next you'll be telling me you don't have a Scroll."

Edward and Alphonse didn't look him in the eyes as he said that. That didn't go unnoticed.

"…you're shitting me. Seriously?" he asked, then looked at Amber for confirmation. She nodded. "Seriously? You're what, sixteen? Seventeen? My niece had a Scroll since she was a child!"

And wasn't that a mystery in itself? Even out in the most rural of villages, virtually everyone had a Scroll. She still didn't buy into their miserable excuse that her Scroll didn't look like the ones they knew, since all of them had just about the same design.

She would give them the benefit of the doubt, though. They earned that, after having saved her life.

"Just answer the question," Edward diverted, stepping over to the Bullhead and tapping its surface. "This is – what, steel? No, aluminium? Carbon fibre? A chromium plate?"

That… wasn't something she thought to question, before…

"I'm not sure," she said honestly. "Doesn't your Semblance tell you that, anyway?"

"That's not how it works, Miss Amber, unfortunately."

"Yeah, would certainly make things a lot easier if it worked that way," Edward muttered.

"What _is_ your Semblance anyway, kids?" Qrow asked, looking over from the door. "Amber here was a little light on the details."

The two kids exchanged glances, then shrugged. Edward clapped his hands, and then touched the surface of the Bullhead, accompanied by blue sparks. Despite this being the fifth or so time she had seen his Semblance in action, it still amazed her to see how it worked.

A second door was made right in the side of the Bullhead, completely functional, with an actual working doorknob. Edward turned it, then opened and closed the door he'd created a few times.

"Our Semblance is transmutation," he told Qrow, who was looking on with an unreadable expression. She could understand why. Without the explanation they had provided her, it seemed almost like magic. "It's not too impressive. We can deconstruct and reconstruct an object if we understand how it's made. Seems like it _is_ mostly aluminium and carbon fibre, after all."

She liked to think that it was a little more complex than that, but Semblances were tricky businesses.

"…Huh. Not too bad, kid," Qrow said.

That was about as close to sounding impressed she'd seen him be.

"Anyway, we've dallied here long enough. Get in, and we'll fly off too Beacon."

Edward nodded, then repeated the use of his Semblance. The Bullhead reverted to how it had been before. The four of them stepped on, and Qrow signalled for the pilot to take off.

"Wow! It really flies!" Alphonse gasped. "Is this – is Dust powering the Bullhead?"

"Of course," Amber told him kindly. His armour was really deceptive, given how innocent he seemed. Why he chose to continue wearing it all the time, she didn't really know. Though Edward's appearance was a little more vibrant in colours than she'd liked, he at least left his face exposed, even if he covered every other bit of skin with sleeves, boots and gloves.

"So the engines by the sides provide both the vertical lift and thrust," Edward muttered under his breath, glancing out of the window as they sailed through the air. "But the weight… the airplane's mass has to be several thousand kilograms, at the very least. To generate that kind of force…"

"That's Dust for you," she said nonchalantly, leaning back in her seat. She'd been slightly on edge the entire journey here, but at least her attackers hadn't made a return. "A mix of Gravity Dust and Combustion Dust, to be precise."

Hey, Dust Studies was her best topic back in Beacon for a reason. She wasn't the best in combat, but her skill and understanding of Dust could rival the likes of the Schnee family.

"Gravity and Combustion Dust, huh?" Edward repeated, not tearing his eyes away from the sight of the engines. "Amazing…"

The mystery only deepened. Why were they so obsessed and amazed over _Dust_, of all things?

"Enough gawking around. I'd like for you kids to answer some questions of mine before we meet up with Ozpin, if you don't mind."

Qrow's seriousness caught her off-guard momentarily. For once, he didn't seem like the usual perpetual drunkard of a Huntsman.

"Questions?" Alphonse asked, but his tone sounded slightly guarded.

"Relax. If you're really on our side, there shouldn't be a problem." Qrow stood up, and stepped over closer toward them. "I arrived at the site of the battle and saw the three people that attacked Amber, but didn't see any of you. Why is that?"

Amber knew, without a doubt, that if their answer left even a hint that Edward and Alphonse sided with Salem, he wouldn't hesitate to take them in for further interrogation and wring them out for all that they knew. It couldn't have been a coincidence that he chose the moment when they were high up in the air and unable to escape to ask his question.

Thankfully for them, then, that Amber knew without a doubt that they weren't with Salem. It was simply implausible.

Edward shrugged. "I transmuted the puddles of water to create a screen of mist to block their eyesight. Al made a hole in the ground to hide us, and then we sealed it shut and continued modifying the composition of the air to give a breathable environment."

…holy _shit._

How could he say all that so nonchalantly?

"Huh. Smart of you," Qrow commented idly, but she thought there was just a hint of him being impressed by their quick thinking. "What happened next, then? Amber couldn't have been in very good shape."

She wanted to know that as well. She wasn't an idiot. Injured as she was, with her Aura broken and with actively bleeding wounds, coupling the draining of her Maiden powers on top of that didn't give her much hope for survival. She'd seen far too many injuries in the field to think that the boys could possibly have made it back to the doctor in the village in time.

Edward looked over at Alphonse, the two of them exchanging a silent message. Then, Alphonse spoke.

"I… It didn't look good. By the time we felt safe enough to leave, Miss Amber already looked to be severely injured. We didn't think we could find help in time, so we tried to use medical – we used our Semblance."

Qrow frowned. "I thought your Semblance was transmutation. You're saying you did this transmutation mumbo-jumbo on Amber, here?"

"You _transmuted_ me?" she gasped.

"No!" Both boys immediately loudly denied that. A little bit of an overreaction, given her innocuous question. "We would _never_ do that!"

"Then what did you do?" she asked softly. She didn't get why they were so worked up over that, given that whatever they'd done saved her life.

"I transmuted some of the proteins in your body. Fibrinogen to fibrin, prothrombin to thrombin… I created fibrin meshes to help stop the bleeding where there were visible injuries, and restructured existing cartilaginous matrices to rebuild broken vessel walls as a stop-gap measure where I could see and feel them –"

…what?

"Slow down there, big guy," Qrow raised a hand up. "I don't really get what you're talking about, but you're saying you used your Semblance to stop the bleeding? I thought that the shorty said you needed to understand the makeup of a material to use it?"

It was a miracle that Edward didn't react to his choice of words. Perhaps it was because of how they seemed to be uncomfortable with this topic, even though she still couldn't understand why they were so squirmy.

"That was the risk that we took," Alphonse finally said. "We couldn't repair all the injuries – just the more obvious ones. Neither of us have much experience using our al – our Semblance in this way."

"It saved my life, it seems," Amber said, genuinely grateful. "I know I've said it before, but thank you."

"Ah… you're welcome?" Alphonse said, abashed.

"Seems like your Semblance is quite versatile," Qrow commented. "I take it that those pillars and that damned battering ram was your making?"

Immediately, Alphonse turned to look at his brother.

And did Qrow say '_battering ram'_?

"What?" Edward asked heatedly. "You've got a problem with my style?"

…come to think of it, the unorthodox use of his Semblance did suit what she understood of his personality.

"Not at all, kid. Not at all," Qrow said placatingly, but it didn't sound the least bit convincing.

That seemed to be enough for Qrow to at least accept that they weren't a threat, because he leaned back into his chair and took a deep swig from his flask.

"…you really shouldn't drink during the day," Amber scolded.

"Let a Huntsman do what he wants, Amber," Qrow said offhandedly, sighing in contentment. Then, he turned over to address the brothers. "I don't suppose you two know how to make some whiskey with your Semblance?"

"…hundreds of different compounds, varying depending on malt and grain used, but with a principal composition of up to seventy percent ethanol, various lactones, phenols, aldehydes, esters and more trace compounds," Edward recited. He looked at his brother, who nodded slowly. Edward sighed tiredly. "Yes, it's theoretically possible, but it's probably more trouble than it's worth."

…perhaps having Qrow as their first contact with Beacon wasn't the best idea…

"You know what, Amber?" Qrow spoke up, suddenly alert, flashing a predatory smile. "I think the two kids you've picked up are going to fit into Beacon _just_ fine."

Yeah. She was really going to need to keep an eye on them, if only so that Qrow wouldn't be a bad influence on the two boys.

-o-o-o-

-o-o-o-

Amber wasn't lying when she said that Beacon Academy was impressive.

Even during their flight over what they now knew to be the city of Vale, within the Kingdom of Vale (why they named it that way, he had no clue), he couldn't help but marvel at the sight of the city far below from where they peered out of the Bullhead's windows. Remnant's technology truly was more advanced than Amestris' own, even if they lacked knowledge of alchemy. Dust indeed was impressive stuff.

Beacon Academy was something else entirely. It looked a little like Fuhrer Bradley's palace back in Central, but the height of its buildings and its central tower in particular dwarfed everything else he had seen back home. Even when they had already alighted, they continued staring, awed, at the sight that lay before them.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Amber said, admiring the view as well. "I'm not too fond of the place, but Beacon Academy itself can't be described by anything other than breath-taking."

"Amber. It's good to see you again."

Ed shook his head. Now was not the time to space out. Amber and Qrow _seemed_ alright, even if Qrow had some suspicions about them, but now was time to meet their boss. There was a blonde-haired lady, with her hair neatly tied up in a bun, a stern expression on her bespectacled face. By her side, standing far taller than any man really had the right to be, there was a middle-aged man with short, silver hair, calmly examining the group, taking slightly longer to look over Amber, Al and himself.

It was he who had spoken.

First impression?

There was something _strange_ about him.

In a way, he felt like Amber had been before, along with the one who had attacked them. No, from what he could feel with his rudimentary knowledge of alkahestry, this man's chi simply felt weird, as though a contradiction in itself. If he had to describe it, it seemed almost as though there were multiple people within one body, like –

\- like the homunculi. It was like how Ling had described them being.

Immediately, Ed became guarded, and he knew that Alphonse had felt the same sensation from the man. Amber and Qrow seemed to trust him, but that didn't mean all that much. Wrath had fooled all of Amestris before, masquerading as Fuhrer King Bradley. Was this man the same as him?

"Ozpin," Amber greeted. "It's been a long time."

Could they trust him? He doubted he was a true homunculus, in the way that he knew them to be back in Amestris, but Ozpin was clearly different from those under him.

"Indeed," he said. "I wish it could have been under more pleasant circumstances. I am most relieved to learn that you survived the attempt on your life." He smiled apologetically, then turned to address Ed and Al. Ed tried his best to remain calm, and not give anything away. "I understand that I have you two to thank for that."

"Edward Elric," he introduced, taking extra care to extend his normal left arm. There was no need to give anything away just yet. "This is my brother."

"Alphonse Elric," he said.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two young gentlemen. This is Glynda Goodwitch, Assistant Headmistress and Combat Instructor of Beacon Academy."

Her lips were pressed into a fine line, but she nodded, nonetheless. "A pleasure," she said crisply.

"Shall we converse more in my office?" Ozpin gestured ahead, at the tower surrounded by strange green lights at the very top.

Amber nodded, and the brothers did likewise, only hesitating slightly. Sure, they didn't know why Ozpin felt _off_ to them, but they could give him the benefit of the doubt, for now.

They remained silent as they walked. Ed hoped that the others would at least engage in some talking, that he could eavesdrop and pick something up, but it seemed that it was not to be.

Before he knew it, they were riding up a long elevator, and he found himself within an office that overlooked the rest of the academy. Ozpin gestured for them to sit by the conference table they'd prepared.

…heh. Even in another world, these tables really were the same.

"Edward Elric. Alphonse Elric," Ozpin said, looking at each of them in turn. "I understand that you've saved Amber at the risk of your own lives. For that, I thank you, but I'm afraid that this act of courage may have dragged you both into a fair amount of trouble."

"Amber's explained a little of that," Ed said, glancing over toward her, his thumb pointed. "Those three were kind of tough, but we'll be able to handle ourselves."

"Hmm," he hummed, entirely non-committal. "Be that as it may, I would highly encourage you to accept the offer that she has proposed. Beacon Academy can provide you protection against those that would seek to do you harm."

"We'll stick around. Amber says that you've got a good collection of books here, and we plan to do a little reading of our own."

There was movement at the corner of his vision. Amber flashed Ozpin a victorious smile, one that spoke '_I told you so'._

"Excellent. I applaud your excellent judgement. Before we move onto matters of your enrolment at Beacon, however, there are some… ah, inconsistencies that we seek to get corrected."

Uh oh. That didn't bode well.

"What do you mean?" Al asked.

"The battle you fought against Amber's attackers. I find it hard to believe that children such as yourself could have engaged them in battle and survived, if even she didn't manage to best them."

Glynda Goodwitch sounded stern, direct, and altogether to the point. If Ed didn't know better, he would say that their teacher, Izumi Curtis, had somehow joined them in Remnant. The resemblance was slightly uncanny.

"The kids told me about that," Qrow waved her concerns away. "They didn't win. They did the smart thing, used their Semblance and ran."

"Amber mentioned your Semblance as well, when she contacted me last night. I must confess to being curious as to what your Semblances are."

"Oh, you're gonna love this, Oz." Qrow smirked, receiving a raised eyebrow in return. He looked over at Amber, but she merely mirrored Qrow's actions.

"You want to do this, or me?" Ed asked his brother.

Al sighed. "Please just don't go overboard."

Overboard? Nonsense. The Fullmetal Alchemist did exactly what was required.

Hmm… what would work best…

He glanced around the room, taking a look at what he could transmute. Something suitably impressive, but without being overly complex and giving away too much of what they could do…

Experimentally, he tapped the table that they were seated around. "This is… glass, am I right?"

"Hmm?" Ozpin tilted his head marginally. "I believe so, yes. Why do you ask?"

He saw Qrow not-so-discreetly taking his Scroll out, pointing it toward Ozpin. Probably one of those utilities that he hadn't yet learned about.

"No real reason."

With that, he clapped his hands, felt that familiar rush of energy, visualised the required transmutation circle and the flow of tectonic energy, and then placed a gloved palm on the table.

Within instants, the entirety of the glass table turned to sand.

"Oh, boy," he heard Al sigh again.

"What?" For the first time, Ozpin sounded surprised, and more than a little shocked. He touched the surface of the table, still structured as one despite being transformed into densely packed sand. He could have let the individual grains fall down, of course, but reverting it back to a working table would be a pain. "This is… sand?"

"Our Semblance is transmutation," Ed said for the benefit of the two who hadn't yet heard the explanation he and Al had rehearsed and agreed on. "By understanding the makeup and properties of an object, we can deconstruct and reconstruct it. Glass and sand are both primarily silicon dioxide, after all, just crystalline or amorphous."

"You're underselling it, kid," Qrow said, his Scroll still raised, pointed at Ozpin. "His Semblance saved Amber's life. He did something, altered the proteins in her blood or some other voodoo magic and stopped the bleeding. Smile for the camera, by the way."

…the Scroll could double up as a camera? And one that could continuously record images?

How did Amestris never make such an invention before? How was this world just so _unfair_?

"Impressive," Glynda spoke, and she actually did sound the part. "Most impressive." She stared at Ed and his brother in turn. "How old are each of you?"

"Sixteen. Al's fifteen."

He glared at them for a moment longer, daring them to argue, taking special care to look suspiciously at Qrow for a second longer. He wouldn't it past the man to make yet another joke at his height, even though it was _completely normal for someone of his age_.

"Such control at your age," Glynda murmured, feeling the surface of the table. "And you say you can do this with _any _material?"

"Not quite," Ed said, glancing over at Al. "Mostly inorganics. Organic matter has to be non-living, and even then we need to understand fully both the original object and the desired product in order for our al – our Semblance to activate."

He really needed to stop almost accidentally calling it 'alchemy'. He was just so used to explaining it that way, that adjusting how he thought of it was proving to be near impossible.

He brought his hands together, laid it down on the table, focussed, and reverted it to its original structure.

"And that's our Semblance," he said, inwardly pleased with how he'd handled it, based on the expressions that Glynda and Ozpin were giving him. "Transmutation."

The two of them exchanged silent glances, before Ozpin spoke more gravely.

"After receiving news from Amber last night and the request she made, we took steps to begin your enrolment into Beacon. Most curiously, we couldn't find anyone matching your names or descriptions within Vale's database, nor Atlas', or any other institution we could contact. We would like an explanation as to why."

With those words, even Qrow and Amber looked at them more sharply, the former with some suspicion, and Amber with just a bit of unease.

…_shit._

No one said they had a database, whatever that was. These things didn't _exist_ in Amestris!

"We…" he began saying, looking at Al for silent confirmation.

They'd agreed that they couldn't share the fact that they had come from another world, if they didn't give them reason for trust in return. Given their cloak and dagger behind Amber's power that they now had in their possession, they simply couldn't divulge information like that. If they learned that alchemy existed and the potential it held, he was under no illusion that they or others would see them as a resource to be used, much like how Olivier Armstrong had originally viewed the two of them.

"We aren't quite from around here…"

"Where are you from, then?"

"The outskirts," he lied, hoping to sound as convincing as he could. "A little village. You wouldn't have heard of it."

Hell, even back in Amestris, few people in Central had ever heard of Resembool.

"I'm afraid I can't accept that as an answer, Mister Elric," Ozpin continued saying, his voice level, but with just the slightest edge to it now.

"We can't tell you," he grunted out.

"Why _not_?"

"We can't tell you that, either."

"Why not, kid?" Qrow said, rising to stand. Ed tensed, mirroring him, prepared to fight or flee if necessary.

Options… there was plenty of metal and glass in the room. They were fairly high up, but if he made use of the elevator shaft, there could be many potential exits that they could use to hide and run away –

"Qrow!" Amber shouted. "Stand down!"

"Brother." Ed turned his head, as Alphonse gently placed his arm on his shoulder. "Don't."

"Everyone, please calm down," Ozpin said, staring pointedly at Qrow, but without any break in his composure. "I apologise if I've given you the wrong impression, Mister Elric. Rest assured that we do not intend any harm upon you or your brother. We just wish to know why, by all accounts, there is no record of your existence."

For a long moment, Ed stared at Ozpin, who met his gaze levelly. He _seemed _honest, at the very least, and gave off a closer vibe to Mustang than to King Bradley. He was firm and unwavering, but like the colonel there was a certain honesty within.

Finally, he sighed, and conferred with his brother.

"What do we do, Al?"

There was another pregnant pause in the room, as they tried communicating their intents as silently as they could.

"We need to tell them something," Al finally said, turning to face Ozpin. "We can't tell you everything – for certain reasons, we simply _can't – _but we'll give you some reason to trust us, to prove that we don't mean you any harm, if you can give us some reason to trust _you_ in return."

"Equivalent Exchange," Ed followed up.

Heh. For all that he was gentle despite the bulky body he'd been cursed with, Al could be stern when he needed to be.

"…very well," Ozpin said, nodding, looking to see if his peers agreed. "I can accept that. What will make you trust us?"

Al spoke first. "Why was Amber attacked? I know that they wanted to take something from her, but –"

"You _told_ them?" Qrow interrupted immediately, his head practically snapping toward Amber.

"They almost lost their lives fighting those three. They deserved to know _something_, at least!" she argued hotly.

"Qrow. Amber." With those words from Ozpin, their argument fell silent. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Mister Elric. It is for the best that neither of you learn just what it was her attackers wanted."

So they didn't trust them that much, then. Good to know.

Equivalent Exchange really was a useful concept.

"Fine." Al didn't seem at all bothered that they kept the knowledge about the existence of the power partly now in Ed's possession hidden. They were expecting that, in fact. "Enrolment into Beacon, then. How do we know that your offer is a genuine one?"

Without a word, Ozpin slid his Scroll across the table. Ed and Al leaned over, looking to see just what was on it.

"These are the enrolment forms we had prepared for you, based on what information we had available from Amber. It was why we conducted the background checks in the first place." Ozpin smiled kindly, or at least it _seemed_ genuine to Ed. "Like I said, Mister Elric – we do not mean either of you any harm. I apologise if myself or my colleagues have given the impression of such."

It wasn't a lot. They could have prepared this in advance, as a measure to earn their trust, but…

There simply was a lot they could stand to _gain_. They had no currency of this world, no knowledge, and with threats at every corner. They needed some way to orientate themselves, find out more about Aura, about Dust, about the Grimm, about this _Salem_ that had garnered Truth's interest (and wasn't that a terrifying thought?), and this academy seemed like a good place to start.

Despite the risks it posed, it would be foolish to turn down his offer.

"...fine, then," Ed acquiesced. "We'll trust you, for now."

"Thank you, Mister Elric," Ozpin said, nodding gently. "I can assure you that it will not be misplaced."

Again there was a long pause. Ed glanced over at Al.

Al pointed subtly at his body.

So, he wanted to tell them about _that_, did he?

Well, if nothing else, it should elicit at least some response, given how they had reacted to their display of alchemy.

Now… how to best go about this…

Ah, to hell with it. Direct was always the best approach.

Sighing audibly, he removed his coat and glove, and rolled up his left trouser leg.

"Your arm and leg…" Amber breathed. "They're gone…"

Even Qrow reacted to that, despite giving the impression of being aloof, studying his lost limbs. Ozpin didn't betray much emotion, but he stared at Ed more intently.

_Let's see him try to keep that face once Al shows what he can do._

Very slowly, Al lifted his arm up, glancing uncertainly at Ed. He nodded as encouragingly as he could.

That's right. They could still play this off.

He paused for a moment, before taking his entire head off in one quick motion.

Now, _there_ was the reaction he was hoping to get.

Glynda gripped the table more tightly, her mouth wide open, while Ozpin's eyes had widened in surprise. Qrow twitched slightly, before he managed to school his expression.

"What – _Alphonse_?" Amber gasped. "What – what is this? You don't –"

"You're hollow inside?" Qrow asked tensely. "Your body isn't there? Or is this – is this your work?"

He addressed that last bit to Ed. He scoffed. "Hardly. Al's his own person, and he is there, alright."

"I apologise if I've scared you," Al said gently, holding his helmet just in front of his torso, leaning forward slightly, but taking care to not expose the Blood Rune through which his soul was alchemically bound to the armour. "Like brother says, this _is _me."

"But _how_?" Glynda pressed. "I don't understand…"

"Please, explain to us, if you would, Mister Elric and Mister Elric," Ozpin said. Was that concern in his voice? Or was that fear? Mistrust?

Again, both brothers looked at each other for a moment. No turning back now. Silently, Al gestured for Ed to explain.

"Water, thirty-five litres. Carbon, twenty kilograms. Ammonia, four litres. Lime, one and a half kilograms," he began reciting softly. "Phosphorus, eight hundred grams. Salt, two hundred fifty grams. Saltpeter, hundred grams. Sulfur, eighty grams. Fluorine, seven point five grams. Iron, five point six grams. Silicon, three grams, and fifteen other trace elements in small quantities."

He knew this by heart. After all their research, all their failed research that had went into their foolish and brazen attempt at human transmutation, this was the stuff that plagued his nightmares.

"I don't understand –"

"That's the total chemical makeup of the average adult body," he interjected, cutting Amber off. "With it, we tried using our Semblance to bring our mother back to life."

He ignored the loud gasp from Amber at that admission, and the strained looks from the others around the table.

"But there was something missing. The human soul." He closed his eyes tightly, but it didn't stop the image of the… _thing_ that they had created from coming to the fore of his mind. "For our hubris, for doing that which should _never_ be done, we were punished. I lost my arm and leg, and Al lost his body. Now, Al's soul is bound to the armour, that was lying nearby where we attempted using our Semblance. All we want to do is to get our original bodies back."

There. The truth was out, or as close to it as he and Al were willing to reveal. He nodded slowly at Al, who secured the helmet back onto his head.

"We believe it is possible," Al spoke up. "We've been carrying out research and experimenting with our Semblance. We think that the answer lies somewhere within Aura, or within Dust, or if we learn just what it is that make the Grimm what they are."

"Grimm are soulless, and yet they have a form," Ed followed up, telling the others about the discussion they had in the few days that Amber had been unconscious. "Why do they possess intelligence? Why do they attack people? How are they created? Why do they disappear into nothingness when they are destroyed? Where does all that mass go? How can the Grimm _exist_?"

Left unsaid, of course, was how they related to homunculi, and those who came from beyond the Gate of Truth.

Ozpin seemed deep in thought, if slightly troubled. Amber looked worried, staring at Al. Glynda's stern expression had softened slightly, and he was reminded of his teacher once more. Even Qrow seemed just the slightest bit sympathetic.

"Al has his soul, but without his biological body. If we research Aura and the Grimm, find out more about how physical Dust can be transformed into energy, we might just find a way to get our bodies back."

They both leaned back against their chairs. The rest was up to Ozpin, Amber, Qrow and Glynda now. Was this enough to earn their trust?

It took awhile for the silence to be broken.

"…not gonna lie, kids," Qrow spoke solemnly, with at least some seriousness. "That's a hell of a lot of stuff you've dumped on us."

"Qrow!"

"It's true, though. If getting a body back was so easy, James would have done it a long time ago, what with all the resources he has in Atlas," he said, shrugging at Amber, then took a long swig from his flask. "I don't envy you."

Ed smiled mirthlessly. He didn't quite know who this 'James' was, but he suspected it was another automail user. "Thanks."

"I thank you for your honesty and trust, Mister Elric and Mister Elric," Ozpin said. "Rest assured that you have our deepest sympathies. Beacon's halls will be open to you both, so long as you don't seek the harm of any of our students or staff."

"We would never do that!"

"I know," Ozpin said gently, nodding at Al.

Ed coughed politely. "So… what now?"

"Glynda and I have already seen to it that guest rooms are prepared for your arrival, at least until the school term starts. Glynda can escort you to your room now, if you like. I hope you understand – the rest of us need to discuss in more detail about what happened with Amber."

Well, well. At least he was being honest in that.

"Fine," Ed said, standing up, covering up his automail limbs once more. "Lead the way."

Glynda nodded, pressed a button on the wall panel, and the doors to the elevator opened. Just before the three of them would have entered, Al turned around, and bowed deeply at those remaining in the room.

"Thank you!"

Oh, he knew just what Al was thanking them for. It wasn't just because they decided to trust them.

Once their surprise wore off, they saw him as a person, as a _human_, as any other living being, not a suit of armour alchemically made sentient.

For that, Ed would trust them just a little bit more.

He nodded his own thanks, before stepping into the elevator.

-o-o-o-

He had seen many things in his life as a Huntsmen, and as a member of the Branwen tribe before that. He thought he knew many things – death, destruction, the devastation brought by both Grimm and humans – but this was something new entirely.

"I'm guessing from your reaction that those kids didn't tell you about that," Qrow commented lightly. Amber glared at him weakly.

"You think?" she snorted. "I asked them why he never took off his armour, even to sleep… now it all makes sense… And back at the Bullhead, when they reacted so strongly about your comment about transmuting me –"

He winced. "Yeah. Couldn't have been a good feeling."

"Now that I think back, I don't remember him even eating since I woke up the evening before…"

Qrow glanced at Oz, wondering if he had any input of his own. "Oz? You're the expert here; heard anything like this before?"

"No," he responded. "Even with my body… I can't say that I've ever come across a Semblance like theirs, or heard of a soul existing within something other than their own body."

So, even with his secret of reincarnation, Oz was just as clueless as them? That didn't bode well.

"You believe them, then?"

"Their reaction was a little too… _visceral_, for that to be a lie. I think that they have indeed lost their bodies in an attempt to bring their mother back to life, and that they genuinely intend to reclaim them. Besides, both the Elrics have Aura – as I'm sure you've noticed – and by extension have their soul."

Indeed. They didn't give off the same unpleasant feeling that soulless Grimm did. Amateur Huntsmen always felt something 'off' in the presence of Grimm, but ones trained by combat such as himself, Oz and Amber knew a living creature when they saw it.

Stupid kids. He remembered how Yang had dragged Ruby, ventured off and almost gotten themselves killed by Grimm trying to search for Raven. It wasn't quite the same, but he understood why they did what they did.

"Can we help them?" Amber asked quickly.

Qrow laughed. _Help?_ He took another small sip from his flask, ignoring the look of disapproval from Oz and Amber.

"Even if we wanted to, I'm not sure any of us even know where to _begin_," he said, after wiping the corner of his lips with the back of his hand.

"We will do our best, Amber," Oz said diplomatically. "You know they will have their best chance finding information, both in Beacon and with us."

True. If their plan was to research the Grimm, nothing could come much closer than being tangled up in a war against Salem herself. For now, they couldn't yet learn of the truth, until it was firmly established that they were indeed trustworthy. Oz played his cards close to his chest for a reason.

If they were going to learn about her in the future, however, it had to be asked.

"Can we trust them?"

"Of course!" Amber snapped immediately. "They saved me from Salem's underlings!"

"That's going to be different from _telling _them about her existence, and you know that," he told Amber. Her inexperience was showing. Far too often, she was ruled by her emotions and ignored logic. "Sure, they may be good little boys, I'll buy that. Could you say for certain they won't rat us out if Salem's lackies capture them? Will they compromise our mission?"

"They're children!"

"Do you think Salem gives a damn?" he retorted.

"Amber. Qrow." Ozpin interjected, doing that little _thing_ he did that made him feel like a first year at Beacon when caught breaking the rules with Tai. "Calm down. For now, I believe it best that we treat them as any other student. We will provide guidance where possible, but for now we cannot bring them into the fold, not until we learn more about them. They have given us some reason for trust, but this still does not explain why we have been unable to find any information regarding them."

Amber looked reluctant to accept, but finally gave up. "Fine."

"Thank you for your understanding, Amber." Ozpin smiled slightly, then looked at Amber intently. "Now, then. I believe it is time we discuss about the attempt on your life."

"Where do I even start?" she asked bitterly. "I don't have my powers anymore, Ozpin. They're gone. The girl who attacked me took them all."

"From the very beginning, if you will," Ozpin said. "I know it's difficult reliving a memory like that – but please, Amber – we need to know."

Huh. He'd never seen the Fall Maiden – well, _former_ Fall Maiden look that broken and weak before. Qrow had always thought her to be far too inexperienced, but now she simply looked exhausted.

"I was travelling along the road, when I saw a little girl crying there… I got off my horse, gave her an apple when I felt something wasn't quite right. They came at me from behind. Her Semblance – one of the lackies, not the ringleader's – it seems to give illusions, both auditory and visual. We engaged in combat. Two teenagers – a male, silver hair, with prosthetic legs, and a girl with green hair and red eyes."

Ozpin waited patiently as she paused momentarily.

"They weren't the strongest combatants I fought. Even without my magic, I managed to subdue them." She closed her eyes for a moment. "Then came their leader. A girl, looks to be just in the young twenties or late teens with short, black hair – she fired arrows at me, and forced me to disengage, and then attacked me with twin swords. I could hold my own for awhile with magic, but was eventually overwhelmed. They broke my Aura, forced me down – and then –"

Her voice trembled. Qrow looked away. Inexperienced or not, Amber was one of theirs.

"She slipped on this glove. She held her palm in front of my face, and out of nowhere some kind of Grimm appeared. It shot black threads at me, and the moment it contacted my face I felt the Maiden's power being siphoned out of me. I thought… I _knew_ I was going to die. That's when I blacked out, and next I knew… I was there, in the inn, with the Elric brothers."

"Amber," Ozpin said comfortingly, standing up and walking over to her side. "Thank you for telling us. Rest assured that we will be acting on your information –"

"There's more," Amber interrupted. Qrow looked at her with renewed interest. "I don't know if it's relevant – but I just can't stop _thinking_ about it. Her glove – I only saw it for an instant, but there were strange markings on its back that I didn't recognise. It looked like… a series of curved lines, with an eye in the centre – here, I'll sketch it for you."

Ozpin grabbed a few pieces of scrap paper, and placed it down on the table. Amber got to work quickly, and Qrow looked at her drawing from over the shoulder. It wasn't the prettiest drawing, but it got the idea across.

It…

Well, it didn't look like much of anything.

"Does that mean anything to you, Oz?"

"…unfortunately, no," he said. Amber looked dejected at that. "It _is_ a clue, though. I'll confer with James. We'll find out more about this, and of the ones that attacked you. Thank you, Amber. Really."

"The Elric brothers also have some suspicions about all of this," Amber said. "They mentioned that the one Edward fought could launch fireballs without the use of Dust. I think they suspect that there's more going on here."

Did they, now? They seemed a bit more perceptive than most upstarts their age, so Qrow wasn't too surprised, but he hoped they didn't dig around where they shouldn't. Salem wouldn't give a damn about their age, and with their present level of experience, they'd only get themselves killed.

"Hmm. We'll need to look out for them, then."

For a while, there was silence.

"What happens now?" Amber finally asked. "I don't have my powers anymore. There's no reason for you to –"

Qrow chuckled. "If you think Oz is gonna abandon you, you really don't know Oz at all," he told the former Maiden. "It's not the best job in the world, but you're one of us, Amber. Better get your training back on."

"Not quite how I would have put it, but Qrow is right, Amber," Ozpin affirmed. "I know that we do not see eye to eye on many issues – but Beacon will always be a home for you. Now that your attackers know your identity, I encourage you to stay with us."

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Amber sighed. "What, then? Like Qrow says, I'm not much good in combat. I could barely handle those three on my own, even with the powers of the Maiden."

"That's why I'm not asking you to take field missions like Qrow," Ozpin said, looking Amber in the eye. "As I recall, you graduated as the top student in Dust Studies during your time in Beacon."

"Huh? Well, yeah, I suppose, but –" she replied immediately, then stopped. She looked incredulously at Ozpin. "You're not saying –"

"As it so happens, Beacon Academy has a vacancy for a teaching position in Dust Studies," Ozpin continued smoothly. "Should you choose to accept, we would like to offer you a position as a professor."

Well, well. Who knew that Oz had come up with that? Last he heard, Glynda was the one who would be taking up that role, alongside her duties as Assistant Headmistress and Combat Instructor.

"You want _me_ to teach?" Amber asked, blinking repeatedly, pointing at herself. "Are you sure?"

"From Maiden to Professor. You sure do switch careers fast," Qrow commented. "Some advice: if they're anything like the brats Tai and I have to deal with in Signal, I'd suggested investing in one of these of your own."

He gestured at the flask by his waist. Ozpin sighed.

"Really, Qrow?"

He shrugged. "Just offering some help to a colleague of mine."

Ozpin shook his head, then looked at Amber, who still seemed undecided. "Well, Amber? Would you like to accept?"

"I…" she sighed. "I wouldn't even know where to _start_…"

"Glynda can get you up to speed," Ozpin reassured her. "Don't worry."

Heh. So _Glynda_ was going to help Amber, then?

Qrow wished her all the best. He remembered how much he'd been nagged by Glynda back when he and Tai first joined Signal, even if she wasn't part of their staff.

"I'll accept, then," Amber finally agreed.

"Excellent," Ozpin said, nodding. "I'll bring Glynda up to speed, later. For now, please take the time to rest, Amber. Your Aura hasn't fully recovered yet from your ordeal."

They took that as a sign of dismissal. Qrow and Amber stood up, and headed to the waiting elevator.

"So, a teacher, eh?" he commented idly, as the elevator continued down. "Who would've thought?"

"Oh, shut up, Qrow," she groaned, lightly punching him in the shoulder. "I'm starting to regret accepting now."

"If I were you, I'd run for the hills now."

She sighed, but didn't comment further. Eventually, the elevator reached the bottom floor, and the doors opened.

Curiously, Amber didn't step out just yet.

"…hey, Qrow?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think you could help train me a little?"

He eyed her carefully. She was inexperienced, yes, but now there was fire in her eyes. Now, she looked a little more like a proper Huntress. When next she met with her attackers, he knew that she wanted to be ready.

It wasn't quite his style, but he supposed he could spare a few pointers.

"…I'll try."


	5. Chapter 5

**The bane of all RWBY fics, where things go to die... pre-Initiation!**

* * *

_Naturally, as the unquestionable hub of the brightest minds Remnant has to offer and the premier developer of cutting-edge technology, the Kingdom of Atlas spearheads humanity's efforts in understanding our deadliest foes and how we may one day defeat them. Within recent decades, we have seen rapid development in Dust technology, an understanding of the multitude of Grimm that exist, and have streamlined the training processes for the nurturing of future huntsmen and huntresses that will serve as humanity's bulwark in time to come._

_The greatest discoveries of the modern era have hailed from Atlaesian intellect – who in this day and age can say that they have never heard of Pietro Polendina, or Arthur Watts? Who has never heard of the Schnee Dust Company and the enormous impact it has played in making Dust freely available to all? Even before his fall from grace and later expulsion, the research conducted by Doctor Merlot and Merlot Industries sited in Mountain Glenn located in Vale had been praised as revolutionary and been thought of as a potential silver bullet that could end the Grimm threat once and for all._

_Of course, we do not deny that scientists from other Kingdoms have contributed greatly to the bright spark of humanity's flame. As such, within these following chapters, we seek to provide an overall historical account of humanity's progress in carving a place for themselves among Grimm-infested lands – from initial forays into the nature of Aura, to cutting-edge research into Dust spearheaded by various laboratories in Atlas, we hope that all readers will be able to appreciate the resilience and ingenuity of the human mind since time immemorial, regardless of prior exposure to the subject matter._

Hmm. That sounded slightly promising.

_The Grimm Threat – an Atlaesian Perspective_ was a little heavy-handed on their obvious favouritism towards Atlas, but if the book contained exactly what its foreword promised it could prove a decent read. Ed moved the book over to the 'tentatively useful' pile, which at present was already several books thick.

Of course, the 'completely useless pieces of garbage' stack was far, _far_ larger still.

Even if its publication date was more than a decade ago, its contents could serve as a useful primer for them to learn more about Aura, Dust and the Grimm, especially since the books that _did_ touch upon those subjects left much to be desired. He still wouldn't forgive how _Biting the Dust _and _A Dusty Tome_ contained more puns than it did any actual valuable and actionable information.

There was some information that they still managed to learn from small titbits thrown in by various authors into their books. Those of Atlas origin tended to praise _humanity's_ contributions while scoffing on beings known as the Faunus, which had led to Ed and Al learning about the existence of people with animal-like characteristics. They weren't quite chimeras – in fact, they didn't seem like a separate biological species at all, since humans and Faunus could have offspring together – but the books were unclear as to exactly how these characteristics came about.

"Any luck, Al?" he asked, stretching slightly.

How long had it been since they'd started? Four hours? Five?

"Not much," Alphonse replied, sighing as he closed the book in his hands, placing it back into the pile they had come to term '_less useful than Mustang on a rainy day'_. "They discussed the applications of Dust, but they glossed over just what it is composed of. _Again_."

For the last three weeks, this had been their life. Between waking and sleeping, other than meals, personal hygiene and automail maintenance, all he had been doing was reading and taking down notes. Al had it much worse, since he couldn't even fall asleep. There had been a day a week ago when the unthinkable had happened, and Al had said that he was sick of _reading_, and went off to practise alkahestry.

He couldn't blame Al, since most of the books didn't contain what they were hoping for.

Sure, they now knew all the different types of Dust, and many more still in development. They had learned of how Dust naturally formed as crystals within cave systems. They knew of the Schnee Dust Company and their industrial operations. Ed could recite verbatim the exact amount of thermal energy that could be converted from precisely point five six grams of a Fire Dust crystal, and work out the differences in kinetics of activation of a raw crystal versus finely powdered Dust.

What they still didn't know was _how_ Dust could be converted into energy, or why something as similar as Lightning Dust and Hardlight Dust could give completely different results. One generated enormous amounts of electric potential, while the other gave rise to an actual temporary _physical _construct whose properties exceeded what should have been capable of the mass of the original Dust.

More vexingly, they _could_ transmute the Wind Dust that they'd procured from Amber, but the end result left much to be desired. They had designed a prototypical transmutation circle the old-fashioned way, using chalk to draw the circle they had devised. It had been a bit of guesswork mixed with knowledge of Amestrian alchemy – featured heavily were the alchemical symbol for air, an upright triangle with a horizontal line bisecting it, along with twin curved lines joined by a single straight line that marked the symbol for _projection._

Unlike the venerable gust of wind that should have been produced by the quantity they had set aside, all they obtained was a slight breeze. Stranger still was the fact that not all the Wind Dust had been activated; a small amount remained in the canister following their transmutation.

They didn't quite understand _why_ it hadn't worked as expected, but they had several hypotheses. It could have been that without the application of Aura as an energy input, the total energy in the system wasn't quite as expected, and insufficient to drive the chain reaction that would use up all the Dust. Alternatively, the transmutation circle could have been inefficient, leading to poor conversion into the desired product through the generation of other impurities that preserved equivalence. When they tested a second canister using their own Aura, it behaved exactly as how the books described it would.

Of course, there was still the possibility that this was _Dust,_ and alchemy could simply behave differently around it. After all, their success with Wind Dust may as well have been pure luck – what kind of alchemical symbol could translate into something like _Gravity Dust _or _Hardlight Dust_? They couldn't experiment more on those even if they wanted to, though. They'd been told they would only have access to Dust laboratories and storage once they officially began as students.

Guesswork and optimisation. It made them both feel like novices again, back in Resembool when they thought themselves masters of alchemy for making clay birds, something they hadn't truly experienced since the first time they saw what lay behind the Gate of Truth.

"Forget about Dust," Ed grumbled, nursing his growing headache. "Did you find anything about the _you-know-what_?"

They had decided to be as secretive as possible regarding the power they had extracted from Amber, and of this 'Salem' that Truth had tasked them to find and punish, whatever that meant exactly. They had developed code words that could be slipped into regular conversation, but when talking in private they could just refer to them this way.

Al shook his head. "Nothing here, either. It's almost as if it doesn't exist."

Damn. That made fifty-six books, now. No mention of Salem, or of a Stone, or any energy source that matched what little they knew of the Stone currently in his possession.

"Same here," Ed said, peering over at their encrypted notes. "Maybe we should rethink how we're searching for information. We've only been looking into Aura, Grimm, and Dust so far."

Beyond those three topics, their knowledge of Remnant was laughable. Sure, they knew some facts, such as the existence of Faunus and a war that took place some time back, and the names of the four Kingdoms of Vale, Atlas, Mistral and Vacuo, but little else beyond that.

Al nodded. "I've been meaning to study their history a bit more, see if we can find any information there. Hopefully, we'll learn a bit more about Grimm and Dust as well, since they've been around for –"

Abruptly, they heard the door to their room open, and they stiffened. Hurriedly, Ed swiped the pieces of paper away from the table they had been working on, closing the next book that he'd been about to read.

"There you guys are!" came Amber's voice, before her body came into view. "Honestly, I've tried searching everywhere! It's already past noon, why are you even still in your room?"

…well, where else _would_ they be?

"Why so secretive, anyway?" Amber continued saying, glancing curiously at them. "It's not like I'm going to peek at your books, or anything, or –"

Suddenly, her eyes widened in recognition, and she covered her mouth with a palm.

Damn it. What had she seen? Ed glanced over to what she had been looking at; the book that he had closed and stashed away behind him –

"It's porn, isn't it?! I _knew_ that Qrow was going to be a bad influence, but I never –"

It took a few seconds before the meaning of her words registered in his mind. Alphonse reacted first.

"P- p- porn?" he stuttered, hurriedly raising his hands in front of him in denial. "No, Miss Amber! It isn't – that isn't – we weren't –"

"Oh, my poor heart!" she swooned, the back of her hand now resting on her forehead. "How despicable! To have corrupted the precious Elric brothers!"

It was only then that she couldn't contain the shit-eating grin on her face, and Ed could practically feel the tuft of hair just above his forehead (that wasn't just to make himself taller, contrary to what Mustang would claim) twitching in annoyance.

"Stop joking around," he grumbled, standing up and tidying up the table slightly. "You know we're researching how to get our bodies back."

She, at least, looked slightly guilty at her jest, but thumped Al hard on his shoulder. "Man, you two are too easy to rile up," she said, grinning, looking over to the small pile of books. "How's it going, anyway? You've found a lot more books to read, huh?"

Al recovered slightly, but Ed knew that were his brother back in his original body he would have been blushing madly. "That's the pile we've already read –"

"W-wait, _what?_" Amber made a choked sound, looking disbelievingly at them. "You've read _all_ of these?"

"Yeah, and they're completely useless," Ed scoffed. "Seriously, how did some of these even get published?"

"There's got to be at least thirty books in here!"

They'd returned over twenty others to the library already, but there wasn't a need to inform Amber of that. Besides, Ed couldn't understand why she seemed so surprised at that. Back when they'd been researching the clues that Doctor Marcoh had left them regarding the Philosopher's Stone, they'd easily ploughed through entire sections of the library.

Amber's eyes narrowed. "Have you two even stepped outside of your rooms once? Outside of eating, going to the library, or using the toilet – have you two _done_ anything?"

"Ummm…" Al started saying, glancing slightly toward Ed. It didn't go unnoticed by Amber.

"You can't just hole yourselves up in your room all day!" Amber suddenly proclaimed, glaring at them each in turn. "It's not healthy! Honestly, Ozpin has me running ragged, but even I have managed to get out of my new office every now and then –"

"Why are you here, anyway?" Ed interrupted.

"Oh, right," Amber said, calming down slightly. "It's about to begin – Ozpin wanted me to make sure that you two were on your way."

"_What's_ about to begin?"

"The briefing for Initiation, obviously!" Amber blinked, before looking at Ed with suspicion. "You don't mean to tell me that you've forgotten, have you?"

Wait… that was _today?_

"Do we really need to go?" he tried arguing. "Ozpin's already accepted us as students, anyway, so the Initiation may as well be pointless –"

Amber chuckled. "Oh, please, Initiation isn't _pointless_," she said. "You need to show off what you can do! Besides, you two will get your teams at initiation!"

…did she just say '_teams'_?

"Teams?" Al spoke up, some anxiety in his voice. "No one said anything about teams!"

"Well, of course there'd be teams! Most huntsmen and huntresses work in teams, right?" she said, a look of confusion on her face. "Sure, some people like myself operate on their own, but almost everyone works together with their old teams from huntsmen academy days."

"We don't need a team!" Ed hurriedly denied. "Al and I will be fine on our own!"

Sure, he worked fine with Greed/Ling, Mr Gorilla, and Heinkel, and he would grudgingly admit that Mustang and Major Armstrong were people he could trust, but after it being just the two of them up against the entire world for so long he was apprehensive about dealing with new people.

"Well, too bad for you two," Amber said with a tone of finality, shrugging. "Now get up! The other new students have already arrived! Ozpin and Glynda will be starting soon!"

Ed looked over at Al, but it seemed they didn't have a choice. If they didn't do as she asked, they both knew that Amber would nag them into compliance. Sighing, Ed put on his coat and gloves, hiding the automail limbs that had already been revealed to Amber. He eyed the available books with a critical eye, then picked one. Knowing how these events went, there'd be plenty of reading time to come.

"Where do we need to be, Miss Amber?" Al asked as he put his notes aside, choosing a book of his own.

"Auditorium – you two _do_ know where that is, right?" She caught the blank looks on Ed and Al's faces, then sighed. "Honestly, it's been three weeks – I'll take you there, but you two really need to get out more."

She beckoned for them to follow her out of the room. Quickly, they trudged by her side, pre-empting any further nagging from her. Ever since that meeting with Ozpin and the rest, in the few times that they had met Amber in Beacon, she had been markedly more concerned for them. To be honest, it irked Ed slightly – he didn't want her pity, or whatever else it might be.

"Have you settled in yet, Miss Amber?" Al asked, making small talk as they were guided along the corridors.

"I've still got lots more stuff to put in my office, but I'm getting there," she sighed. "I never realised just how much work went into planning lessons – Glynda had me go over my notes four times already, and she still has me doing more corrections."

"And you still can't tell us what you'll be teaching?"

"Don't worry, Edward," she said mischievously. "You'll find out soon enough. It'll be a surprise."

He didn't know why she couldn't just tell them forthright. It had been a surprise to them both to learn that Amber had been appointed as a professor, but then again they hadn't just much opportunity to learn much about her. Most of their interaction had involved them both watching over her when she was still unconscious.

"But you're feeling much better now, right, Miss Amber?"

"Of course, Alphonse," she said kindly, slowing down slightly to look at Al. "My Aura completely recovered two weeks ago. I'll be able to handle classes just fine."

"That's good to hear," Al said, relieved.

"Honestly, you're too sweet, Al," she said, then sighed. "Ed could really stand to learn a little from your example."

He pointedly ignored the look she sent him. As far as he was concerned, Amber was starting to become a little like Major Armstrong; a little overbearing, butting her head in issues that didn't really concern her, even if done out of goodwill and in a way that he couldn't honestly maintain his ire for long. At least she wasn't a musclebound freak like the major –

– ah, great. And now he was picturing her face superimposed on the major's topless body.

"Well, we're here," she said, pausing just in front of a door. She reached up to squeeze Al reassuringly on his shoulder, then pat Ed on the head, ignoring how he squirmed in annoyance. "Have fun, you two! Make some friends! Don't let anyone make fun of you for your –"

"I'M NOT SHORT!"

"I'm not the one who said it," she said, shrugging, then looked at her Scroll. "Anyway, hurry up and head in! I've got to get back to my office now, so I'll see you two at Initiation tomorrow!"

"Wait, what do you mean tomorrow –"

She ignored him, walking past another corner to where her office presumably was. He shook his head, sighing in annoyance.

"Well, we're here now. We may as well go in."

The room was already fairly packed. The prospective students looked to be around their age, wearing equipment of all sorts. Some wore armour, while others travelled light, and the weapons they carried ranged from bulky maces to shorter daggers and swords like those used by Lan Fan and Fu.

They caught Ozpin's eye from where he was patiently waiting over by the central stage of the auditorium. He nodded slightly in acknowledgement, before returning to conversation with Glynda as students continued to file in.

Ed still wasn't sure what to think about Ozpin. On the one hand, he was clearly more than he appeared to be, given what they sensed of him, but thus far he hadn't proven to be an enemy. Their contact had been limited, considering how engrossed they had been in their research, but they had occasionally seen Ozpin along the corridors between their room and the library or cafeteria.

"I'll keep this brief," Ozpin said. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction."

Huh. Ed could honestly say he wasn't expecting that. He thought this would be another standard speech, much like the ones he had come to here in his time as a State Alchemist – _'Alchemists, be thou for the people!'_ and all that.

Ozpin gave a cursory glance over at the students. Some weren't paying attention, but from what Ed could tell most of them were, now.

"You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Ed had to give it to Ozpin, the man knew what he was talking about. More than anyone else, he and Al knew the limits of knowledge and alchemy. They relived the consequences of their ignorance every single day.

With that, he stepped back, allowing Glynda to take over.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

Well, there was that. Ed prepared to leave the same way he'd entered and return back to their research, when he felt his Scroll vibrate, startling him.

He scowled. He still wasn't used to that at all, even though Glynda had given Al and himself each a Scroll three weeks ago. There was a single message from Amber, addressed to the two of them.

"_Amber: MAKE SURE YOU TWO MAKE FRIENDS! I better not see you in your rooms, or I'm telling Ozpin! Smiley face. _😊_"_

"_P.S. No, really. I'll tell him to revoke library access if it comes down to it."_

He sighed. Well, there went his plans. At least he and Al each had a book to read.

"Guess we'd better follow them, then," he said, pointing to the students that were being led out of the auditorium. Al nodded, and they trailed behind them at the back of the pack.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a grand-looking ballroom, like the kind he had seen before in the Fuhrer's palace back in Central. The members of staff gave quick instructions for the students to settle there for the rest of the evening and to be ready for initiation the following morning, before taking their leave.

"Over there?" Al pointed a corner. Nice and secluded, just the way they liked it. Gingerly, they made their way through the crowd of overly-excited teenagers.

Al caught some odd looks with his appearance, but most of the others shrugged it off as an oddity of the profession. Still, Ed could feel Al starting to get nervous, as he did whenever people questioned why he wore the armour at all times. Still, with the overall intimidating look of his bulk, it deterred people who didn't know Alphonse's real personality from approaching them.

All the better for them. They sat down, opened their book, and began to read. Now, then, it was time to see whether _From Dust to Dust_ held any true value.

Time passed by quickly, as it tended to do whenever he engrossed himself in a book. Its contents weren't entirely original, but it at least corroborated what they had already concluded from prior reading. There were some ideas he had in mind, and he jotted a few notes along the margins – he doubted anyone would miss the book, anyway, with how much dust (pun not intended) had gathered on its cover.

First and foremost, could Dust be remotely transmuted or otherwise activated through alkahestry, given what little he knew of the similarities in the Dragon's Pulse and Aura? Mei had described alkahestry as being powered by the movement of a multitude of all living souls, after all. _All is One, and One is All_, as their teacher would say.

Al had taken to alkahestry remarkably quickly, although he did have some prior experience. Back when they had fought against Father and he had sacrificed his soul to restore Ed's arm, he had made use of the pathways set up by Mei for remote transmutation of his arm. Already, Al had managed to perform some rudimentary mundane transmutations with what knowledge he had of alkahestry, although like Mei's own practice it couldn't be performed without a transmutation circle.

Once he had more time available to himself, Ed planned to practice and incorporate alkahestry into his own routine. As things were, however, he simply didn't have enough time to do everything he wanted to get done.

He penned down a final sentence (_'Experiment with baking varieties of flour in oven'_, an utterly innocuous sentence to anyone else), before loosening his limbs slightly, taking a look around.

Wait, how long had it been? Why was it already dark outside? Had _that_ much time passed?

Al was still immersed within his own book, softly humming as he wrote some comments of his own. All around the hall, students were starting to lay out sleeping bags, having changed their clothes into more comfortable attire some time ago. In front of them, a pair of sleeping bags had been deposited, a fact that they had been entirely unaware of.

A short distance away, he noticed a black-haired girl with a bow neatly pinned atop her head sitting against the wall, reading a book of her own under the light of a nearby candle. She had glanced over at Ed at the slight movement he had made – a disruption to the routine he had set up for the past few hours, probably – before looking back toward her book with disinterest.

Heh. A likeminded soul. Honestly, Ed couldn't understand how so many of the others were doing such pointless things as… whatever that bunch of topless guys were doing, not-so-subtly showing off to a group of females. Even Major Armstrong had better taste.

Her peace, unfortunately, was not to last. Ed noted how a pair of girls were making their way to his fellow kindred spirit who wanted nothing more than to read in peace, a shorter one with black hair that bore some hint of red hesitant while the other one with long blonde hair was full of confidence.

They exchanged some words, and the corner of his lips lifted slightly when he saw how the one who was reading seemed entirely disinterested in conversation, much to the growing discomfort of the shorter girl. Serves her right for interrupting someone who was _reading!_

Of course, for his little bit of schadenfreude, he was promptly punished.

The girl looked around nervously. He tried to avert his gaze, but it was too late. She noticed Ed and Al – hard to miss, considering how they stuck out like sore thumbs – and her eyes lit up, while warning bells began ringing in his mind.

"Hey! You two!" she shouted happily, startling some others within earshot. For someone so _small_ – even smaller than him, now that he noticed – she moved quick.

Wait, no, he couldn't be thinking like that, he wasn't short –

"Whatcha reading? Come on over! Blake's reading too! That's something you guys have in common! I'm Ruby, by the way! I've got normal knees!"

"Huh?" Al spoke up, startled, unaware of all that had been transpiring. He looked around wildly, and Ed knew his brother was more than surprised, both at how much time had passed and how they were now being accosted by an overly enthusiastic (and nervous) teenager.

"Oooh, nice armour!" she continued saying, tugging at her shirt. "Did you make it yourself! Oh, oh, do you have a weapon too? Here, I'll show you mine – wait, no, it's already in the locker, silly me – oh, and of course you don't have yours too, silly me –I just said that again, didn't I, oops…"

She began laughing nervously, as Al finally began to register the rapid stream of words coming from her mouth. He looked first at her uncomprehendingly, before turning to Ed for help. All he could do was shrug with equal bewilderment.

"Anyway, like I said, I'm Ruby! What's your name?"

"Umm… I'm Alphonse?"

"Right, Alphonse! Nice to meet you!" A wide (and possibly forced) grin was fixed on her face, and she looked over at Ed. "And you are…"

Now that he could study her more carefully, he could practically feel her nervousness, based on how her eyes were darting around slightly and how her smile was slowly becoming more strained. All in all, he got the impression that she was a little too… well, _innocent_ to be someone training to become a huntress.

There was no fear or ill will in her silver eyes, though. In fact, they reminded him a little of –

Nina. Elicia. People that he had failed to help, even with all the knowledge of alchemy that he had.

He shook his head slightly. Now was not the time for that. She was still waiting, although starting to look slightly worried. Some distance away, the blonde-haired one was now looking over with a slight frown.

"Edward Elric," he introduced himself. "I'm Al's brother."

"Oh! You two are brothers! You don't really look like it," she gushed out quickly, seeming relieved for some reason. "Oh, but of course you don't. I can't see Alphonse's face, anyway. Anyway, come on over!"

She reached over, grabbing Alphonse by the hand from where he sat nearby. He still seemed confused, but she managed to tug him off the ground with surprising strength for someone of her size.

"Wow, your armour's heavy!" she commented, as Al got on his feet.

Ed blinked. Things were proceeding a little too quickly for him to follow, and Al was just as lost as he was, getting dragged along by this Ruby. He stood up as well, since he had the distinct impression that there was no escaping from… whatever this was.

"Yang! I've brought new friends! Hey Blake, they like reading too! That's something you three have in common!" she said cheerfully. "Oh, but I haven't introduced you yet. This here's Yang, she's my sister! Blake's… Blake! I met her when…" She paused briefly. "Never mind, that! These are Alphonse and Edward; they're siblings too!"

Yang and Blake were their names, then. Yang seemed to study them for a moment, the frown remaining a second longer, before she smiled brightly.

"You're siblings too, huh?" Yang said, stepping a little closer to their group. "Cool! Rubes here got into Beacon early, too!"

Wait, why was she looking at _him_ when she said that?

Oh –

"I'm the _older_ brother, damn it!"

"Wait, really?" she asked, sounding sceptical, glancing critically between him and Al. "You don't look like it, short-stuff."

_Oh no, she didn't._

"I'M NOT SHORT!"

"Is he really your older brother?" she asked Al, ignoring his outburst.

Al nodded hesitantly. "Uhh… yes?"

"Huh." She blinked, then shrugged. "Well, congrats on making it into Beacon early, anyway. Are you a prodigy like my little sis here?"

"Yaaaang," Ruby protested, squirming slightly, but then looked at Al curiously. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen?"

"Hey, what a surprise! Rubes' fifteen too!" Yang said cheerfully. "Two pairs of siblings two years apart! What are the odds?"

"I'm _sixteen_," Ed interjected.

"Wait, so you both came in early?" Yang sounded surprised. "Huh."

"Well… we didn't quite get in by the normal means," Al said uneasily. "Headmaster Ozpin made some arrangements for us…"

"Oh, you met Ozpin too?" Ruby asked. Ed didn't miss how Blake seemed a little more interested in the conversation, now, despite how she still remained silent.

"Yeah? Big brother and I helped him with something, and he offered us a place here…"

"Don't worry, don't worry; I'm sure we'll all be great friends," Yang said, then turned to her sister. "See, Rubes? I told you you'll make friends here! Look, short-stack even has the same fashion sense as you!"

"I heard that," he grunted out, forcing the words through. "Like I said, I'm not short!"

"Oh, don't worry about it, people tease me about my height all the time!" Ruby reassured cheerfully. Sure enough, she was shorter than him, although her height could match how his had been just a few months back before he had his heavier automail replaced. "Just drink milk, and we'll both grow taller!"

He made a face. "Milk is disgusting."

Ruby gasped, then laughed nervously. "Hehe… anyway, nice cloak! I like the… red!"

Well, well. At least someone appreciated his sense of style. He grinned smugly.

"Why're you still wearing the armour, anyway?" Yang turned her attention to Al, who now looked uncomfortable. "You two aren't changing to pyjamas?"

"Uhh…" Al made an uncomfortable sound, and Ed was about to step in and tell them both that they could do whatever they damn well pleased, but she backtracked.

"No judging, no judging," she said, holding her hands up. "I'm not prying. If that's what you like, then sure."

She returned to how she'd been previously, an easy-going smile on her face, while Ruby seemed a little more comfortable. A second or two passed, before she spoke.

"So… whatcha reading?"

Both brothers glanced at each other. Ed shrugged, and showed her the cover of the book.

"_From Dust to Dust_?" she quoted, then made a face. "Eugh. Dust. Bad memories. Stahp."

"Oh, yeah! Rubes exploded today!"

…what?

"Yaaang!"

"What about you, big guy?"

"Umm… it's called _A Treatise in Dust Applications…"_

"So, you two like Dust, then?" Ruby asked, giving them a friendly smile. "That's cool, that's cool! I'm more of a weapons geek myself, but close enough, huh?"

"Sure?" Ed replied. "I guess?"

They lapsed into silence. Ed glanced over at Blake, who had been listening in with an unreadable expression. They made eye contact, and she marked the page of her book before closing it.

"You two were reading for a long time, you know," she said. "I don't think I've seen either of you move for the past three hours."

So that's how long they'd been reading? Good to know.

"Oh yeah, Blake reads too! Her book's about a man with two souls!" Ruby added helpfully. Ed nodded obligingly.

Wait a moment…

"Wait, did you say _two souls_?" Ed asked. This was it! A clue, and from the most unexpected mouth of all!

"What's the title?" Al already had his book open to a random page, a pen in his hand. "How does Aura work with two souls? Does it make any mention of whether both souls control the same body, if they distribute bodily functions or if one presides over the other, or –"

"Woah, slow down there," Yang interrupted, her palms raised. "I'm _pretty_ sure the book that Blake's reading is fiction."

…ah.

"Of course it's fiction," the girl in question said, looking a little taken aback, alongside a little confusion. "Wait, did you two really think that this was real?"

Greed and Ling Yao shared the same body, but none of these girls knew that. As far as he was aware, no one in Remnant had ever heard of such a thing, despite what rudimentary knowledge they had of the soul through their understanding of Aura.

They both laughed nervously. Yang and Blake shot them odd looks but didn't comment any further, while Ruby continued smiling obliviously.

"Hey!" came yet another voice, and Ed groaned internally.

Great. Right when he thought he could get some peace and quiet, and finally return to reading his book.

"What in the world is going on over here?" A white-haired girl with her hair bundled into a ponytail had made her way over, scowling at their group. "Don't you realise some of us are trying to sleep?"

"Oh, not you again!" two voices promptly exclaimed in unison. Ed blinked with confusion yet again at the rapid developments that he couldn't quite keep up with.

The newcomer glanced over at Ed and Al. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Al, but strangely she seemed to flinch slightly at his armoured form before recovering barely an instant later. Ed glanced at Ruby, tilting his head fractionally to one side.

"Edward, Alphonse, this is Weiss Schnee," Ruby introduced, but sounded reluctant. "Weiss, Alphonse and Edward Elric."

Wait, did she just say –

"_Schnee_?" Ed asked, incredulous. "As in the Schnee Dust Company?"

_Opportunity!_

There was some movement to one side, but when he turned toward it reflexively, Blake was just sitting there as she had been moments ago.

Huh. Must have been his imagination.

"Finally! Some recognition!" Weiss commented smugly, her chin raised.

Anyway…

"You wouldn't happen to know about the chemical composition of different types of Dust, would you?" Ed asked quickly. "We tried searching in some references, but most of them avoided broaching the topic. The closest we found were Maximillian's Fourth Principle and Laplace's General Theory, but –"

"Oh, oh, and about the mining of Dust! Do you know whether natural Dust formations grow over time or alter their form in any noticeable manner? See, I read this book – what was its name, _Dust in the Machine? – _but it seemed to contradict what other texts said, so I was just curious –"

"Wow, you two really _are_ Dust maniacs, huh? You both sound like Ruby in a weapons store," Yang interrupted, a look of amusement on her face.

Ruby and Weiss were looking at both of them blankly, all animosity forgotten.

"Uh… no?" Weiss replied hesitantly, once she finally regained her composure. She coughed into her hand, and straightened her posture. "Never mind that! Why are all of you still talking so loudly? Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Ed shrugged. Some distance away, Blake did likewise. Both of them pointed at Ruby.

"Her fault."

"Hey!" she wailed. "I thought we were friends!"

"Brother –"

"Enough!" Weiss said, scowling. "Just go to sleep!"

With that, she stomped away.

"Welp, I guess we'd better get going before the ice princess over there loses her temper again," Yang said, stretching idly. "Nice meeting you guys! Come on, Rubes."

"See you tomorrow!" Ruby waved, before hurrying to catch up with her sister.

"Well… that was something," Ed said. Al looked just as lost as he did.

What had all of that _been_?

"What's with your interest in Dust?" Blake asked suddenly, a serious expression on her face. What was with that?

"Nothing much, really," he replied. "We didn't have much access to Dust growing up, so we've always had an interest in its properties."

"I see." She frowned slightly, but didn't comment any further. "Enjoy your reading."

She returned to a more comfortable position, propped up against the wall, grabbing her book and returning to the page she left off.

'_The Man with Two Souls?' _How original.

"You too," he said. They took that as a sign of dismissal, and he returned with Al back to their previous spot.

Weiss did have a point. After reading for the better half of the day, he _was_ starting to get tired, and they did need to be in good shape for the Initiation. He didn't quite know what was planned, but it couldn't be that different from the State Alchemist examination.

"Don't read for too long, okay Al?" he said, as he settled into a sleeping bag.

He hoped Al would be alright. He never did enjoy being in crowds, what with his body of armour. Having to stay the night here surrounded by strangers wouldn't be comfortable for him.

"I'll be alright, Ed. You go on ahead."

Ed closed his eyes. Al would be fine. He was always the stronger one of them both, physically and mentally.

Before he knew it, he drifted off to sleep, the familiar alchemical symbols and formulae that filled his every thought slowly fading away, alongside the more recent additions of equations and theories of Dust.

-o-o-o-

Like clockwork, he awoke at dawn.

"Hey, brother," Al greeted as the last remnants of sleep faded away. As always, Al had been sitting there patiently through the night.

"Hey, Al."

He stretched, stifling a yawn. Most of the other students were still asleep. He stood up, gathering what few items he had brought to the auditorium with him, and made his way out toward the toilets. Al trailed behind him.

"Any good reading?" he asked, once they got past the crowd of sleeping bodies.

"There was a little more information on energy conversion factors, but not much."

Hmm. He wondered how that would fit in with what they knew of alchemy, and with some of the new ideas he had been toying around.

Something to think of for later, though. For now, they needed to be ready for initiation.

Thankfully, there were no students making use of the bathroom, early as it was. After a quick shower, he took the opportunity to do some quick inspections of his automail out in another room, Al keeping watch to make sure others didn't enter. He'd oiled it the day before, and though it was an annoyance he knew he would have to do so again after Initiation. Winry would nag him to death if he didn't.

Winry… he wondered how she was. It had been three weeks since they'd parted with everyone else from Amestris, without so much as a goodbye. He felt guilty at the fact that he and Al had left to Remnant, breaking the promise he had made to her, but there was no other choice. Truth wouldn't have let them both return.

He swore, however, that he would make it up to her. He _did _promise that when next they met, it would be with both their original bodies, and that she'd better have her apple pie ready for them.

And then there were the rest. With Father defeated, had things settled back to normal at home? Had Mustang finally gotten his wish, and taken over Wrath's position as head of state? Was he making things right back home, even now?

Had Ling and Lan Fan returned to Xing? Was Mei and her clan now under their protection, as he had promised Ed during their time together? And what of the Armstrong siblings, the chimeras, and Major Armstrong and the Colonel's subordinates?

He'd find all of that out himself, once he and Al made it back home.

There were some scratches on his automail. With a simple transmutation, he fixed those, but couldn't do much about the more complex inner machinery. In time, he knew it would need a proper servicing.

He frowned. That was yet another aspect he would need rectified, now that he didn't have Winry around to help him out. It wasn't so much that creating automail with alchemy was impossible, as it was simply not _understanding_ how the pieces fit together in a way that ensured the transmuted product would be functional. Even a single gear out of place could have catastrophic results.

There was so much he needed to _do_. How would he ever find the time for it all, especially if he was supposed to be attending school, laughable as the idea was? He hoped Ozpin wouldn't mind if he missed out on a class or two.

By the time he was finished, and they put the books they were reading the night before back in their rooms, there was just some time left before they'd been told to assemble over by the cliffs he had seen during their initial journey here on the Bullhead.

"What now?" Al asked.

There wasn't much else to do, and there was hardly enough time to settle into a new book. Might as well mingle around with some of the others, if only so that they could prove to Amber that they were, in fact, capable of making friends. Ruby, Yang and Blake had seemed decent enough.

"Guess we can kill some time," he said, shrugging.

They made their way back toward the ballroom, then wandered around, following where the stream of students took them. Perhaps Amber did have a point when she said that they should have explored the campus. Beacon had many facilities he had been unaware of.

"Ed! Al!" A familiar voice called them over. "You're here!"

Well, they'd already made their decision. Might as well commit to it.

"Hey, Ruby," Ed said, turning to face her.

Wait.

"Did you copy my _clothes_?"

"Of course not! You're the one copying me!" Ruby retorted, her hands on her hips. "Red and black are _my _colours!"

"I've been wearing these for years!"

"Well, so have I!"

The resemblance was uncanny. He didn't have a corset like she did, of course, but their styles looked remarkably similar.

"You two _do_ look alike, brother," Al commented.

"I _told_ you that you've got the same fashion sense as Rubes," Yang said, joining over by Ruby's side.

"I didn't see you two in the hall," Ruby said, Yang following on behind her. "Are you headed to the lockers too? Oh! Can I see your weapon?"

"Rubes!" Yang ruffled her hair. "What's with all this? First you call the big guy and the shorty by their nicknames, and now you're asking to _see their weapons_?" She gasped. "You know what dad said about _boys –_"

"Yang!" Ruby stepped away from where she had been looking intently at Al's armour. "It's not like that! You know it's not like that! It's not like that!"

She said that last sentence for the benefit of Al and himself. Yang just watched her struggling with a shit-eating grin. Ed groaned.

Great. Now he had to deal with yet another person teasing them. Amazingly, he was starting to get used to the fact that she probably wouldn't stop using her nickname for him.

Well, he wouldn't lie. It _was_ starting to get amusing watching Al squirm.

"O- of course not! Haha…" Al laughed nervously.

"Right? Haha…" Ruby mirrored him.

"Alright, alright," Yang relented. "Anyway, let's get going."

They seemed to know their way around, at least. Might as well tag along with them.

"So! What kind of weapons do you two use?" Ruby chatted excitedly as they stepped into the locker room. "I bet you've got a sword, right Al? It goes with your armour! You'll need to see Jaune, he has a knight theme too! And Ed… a staff, maybe? You've got that kind of look, I think!"

"Uhh…"

"This here's my baby!" she said, forgetting about the question she'd asked.

Ed blinked.

What had originally been a rectangular, cuboidal object unfolded itself, and now she stood with a massive _scythe_ planted with the base of its shaft on the ground, dwarfing over herself.

"What _is _that?" he gaped. "Is that a _scythe_?"

"I'm glad you asked!" There was a glint in her eyes. "It's also a fully customisable high-impact sniper rifle!"

He stared, as the weapon transformed yet again, and in her hands she now held a sniper rifle that looked markedly similar to the one he had seen Lieutenant Hawkeye use.

"I built it myself!" she continued saying. "All mechashift components, state-of-the-art surface polishing; durable and lightweight without compromising on function! She's my pride and joy!"

…oh no. He knew this look in her eyes well.

She was channelling _Winry. _

If Winry was a gearhead, then Ruby could only be a weapons nut.

Well, at least he could potentially bounce some ideas off her when it came to the time for repairs to his automail.

"What about you two?" she asked. "Come on, show me!"

Yang had already withdrawn her weapons – some kind of gauntlets, from what he could tell – watching Ruby chatter on with a Scroll in her hands. He felt a sense of déjà vu, thinking back to how Qrow did the same thing back during their meeting with Ozpin.

"Well… brother and I don't actually _have_ weapons…"

"Ehhhhh?" Ruby stepped far closer to Al than should be comfortable, then backed off with a shy 'eep'. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Al said, looking over at Ed.

He shrugged. It wasn't as if their Semblance was a secret. They would keep the truth of their bodies a secret for now, but Ruby needed some answers before she exploded from a mix of excitement and confusion.

He clapped his hands, shaping the marble ground below as he had thousands of times before. Within moments, a long lance was held in his hands, detached from the small sunken section of the ground its mass had been taken from, as Ruby looked on with wide eyes. Yang, too, seemed interested.

"Wow…" she breathed. "Is that your Semblance?"

She caught on quick. Ed nodded.

"Yeah. Al and I have the same Semblance, transmutation. If we understand the composition of an object, we can deconstruct and reconstruct it."

"So cool…" Ruby stared at the lance in his hand. Then, an idea struck her. "Hey! Can you make Crescent Rose?"

He blinked. That… wasn't something he'd thought of.

Come to think of it, his weapons were a lot of the more mundane variety. This '_mechashift'_ she'd mentioned wasn't something he'd come across before.

"We need to understand how the object is designed and how the pieces come together before we can really do any transmutation," Ed said. "I'm not sure if it'll work."

Come to think of it, wasn't it just like automail? He'd seen designs before where automail limbs _did _change forms, revealing cannons or guns underneath.

"I'll show you!" she chirped. She switched its form repeatedly, chatting idly all the while. "See, I incorporated a tripartite gear system to allow faster switching – a little like my uncle's own weapon – there's also an internal sliding surface to make sure the shaft doesn't get caught between moving parts, and…"

She droned on. Ed and Al looked on helplessly, while Yang stepped a little closer, now very obviously recording Ruby blabbering on.

"So, there's that!" she finally finished. "Can you do it, now? Please?"

"I don't think –" He paused, as Yang glared at him. Ruby looked at him like a hurt puppy.

Damn it. "I'll try," he sighed.

"Yay!"

What had she said? Something about a pulley or gear system or something? Without some kind of mental design or even so much as knowing the physical properties required of each component, this was doomed for failure.

Oh, well.

A clap of his hands, a flash of blue light, and a butchery of transmutation later, he held a scythe in his hands. It fell apart an instant later.

"No! My baby!"

Yang started laughing, her hands shaking as he held her Scroll. Ruby glanced up, noticed what her sister had been doing this whole time, and hurriedly snatched it from her hands.

"Yang! How could you!" she whined. "Delete that!"

"Well, you two look like you're having fun."

Oh, no. Ed groaned, turning to face the one who had just spoken.

"What, Amber?"

"Can't I just check up on my two favourite students?" she asked with mock affront. "Also, please don't damage school property."

Fair point. There was now a sizable chunk of the floor missing. One transmutation later, the mass was returned to the floor, with only some subtle markings left where it had been removed if one squinted carefully.

"Well Edward, Alphonse? Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?"

"Introduce yourself –"

"Miss Amber, these are Ruby and Yang," Al spoke respectfully. "Ruby, Yang, Miss Amber is going to be one of the new professors here."

Tch. Spoilsport.

"Wait, you're a _professor_?" Ruby gasped, squirming uncomfortably, then cleared her throat. "I'm Ruby, Ruby Rose. This is Yang, my sister. Yang Xiao-Long."

"Hiya!"

"Wait, did you say Xiao-Long and Rose? As in _Taiyang Xiao-Long _and _Summer Rose?" _Amber asked, an eyebrow raised, before making a face. "You're Qrow's nieces?"

Wait, _what?_

"You know mum and dad?" Ruby asked, eyes wide. "And uncle Qrow, too?"

"I've heard of them before. Team STRQ was rather famous in their own right," Amber replied. "As for Qrow… we've crossed paths, more often than I'd like."

Huh. Guess Ozpin wanted to keep his involvement with Qrow a bit of a secret.

Still, how could _Ruby _be related to someone like _Qrow?_

"As a matter of fact, these two here have met Qrow, too!" Amber said, pointing at Al and himself. Ruby's eyes widened further. "They helped me out of a bit of a mess, and then Qrow helped us contact Ozpin."

"She was too broke to pay for an inn."

"Oi, brat! Don't go telling other people about my finances!"

"You've met uncle Qrow?" Yang asked.

"Unfortunately," Ed grumbled. "He wanted us to transmute him _whiskey."_

"He said he stopped drinking!" Ruby said, affronted. "Oh, I'm _so _going to tell on him to dad…"

Then, abruptly, her eyes turned downcast. "So you knew mum, huh?"

Amber looked at her guiltily, then placed a palm on her shoulder. "Yeah. Sorry to dig up old wounds. Many of us were sad to hear of what happened to her. She was the best of the best."

Ah. So _that's _what it was.

Ed understood Ruby just a little bit better, now.

"'salright," she managed to say, then looked up with determination. "I'm going to be just like mum! I'll become a huntress, and save everyone else like she did!"

Save everyone, huh?

Noble ideals, if a little bit naïve.

He knew that it was impossible to save everyone. He'd already failed Nina, failed Hughes and his family, and then Captain Buccaneer, Fu, Greed and many more toward the end.

Even then, he understood where she was coming from. Hell, he and Al were much the same.

"You'll be a great huntress. I'm sure of that." Amber patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. "Anyway, I was just passing by to check on the students before joining the other professors. You might want to get a move on, though; it'll be starting soon."

"Right," Ed said. "See you around, Amber."

"Good luck, you four!"

With that, she made her way through the crowd of students.

"Will you two be heading off too?" Al asked.

"Rubes and I still need to do some stuff, but we'll catch you over by the cliffs," Yang said. "You guys can get a move on without us. Good luck!"

"You too," Ed said.

"See you, Ruby, Yang."

"Bye Ed, Al!"

As they passed by the other students, Ed noticed Weiss berating a blonde-haired boy dressed in a knight-like set of armour, all while a red-haired girl watched on with bemusement.

Ehh, none of his business. Weiss paused momentarily in her tirade as they passed by. Three pairs of eyes glanced over at the newcomers. Given their previous interaction, the boy had probably interrupted her sleep or something, he figured. Ed nodded in acknowledgement at her, then continued on.

Moments later, Weiss resumed her scolding.

He wouldn't admit it aloud, but now he was starting to get excited about Initiation. Al and himself always sought the thrill of exploring, and while this was nowhere close to the same, the unknown nature of the task to come and the obvious excitement demonstrated by the other students was starting to influence them.

It didn't take long before they were at the cliffs. Ozpin, Glynda and Amber were already there, standing in front of a crowd of eager students. He had no idea where the other professors were, but they were probably somewhere off readying the test that was to come.

For the next few minutes, Ed took the opportunity to admire the view before them. The Emerald Forest lived up to its name. Compared to Beacon, which was notably more advanced than anything Amestris had to offer, the virtually untouched forest and its surroundings with only a few man-made structures felt much closer to home.

Soon, everyone had assembled, and it was time to begin.

-o-o-o-

"Are there any questions?" Ozpin said, finishing off his briefing.

Yes! Yes, he had _all _the questions!

"Yes, um, sir?" Jaune hesitantly asked, a hand raised.

"Good! Now, take your positions."

Wait, the headmaster just ignored him!

"Uhh, sir?" he repeated, more nervously this time. "I've got a question… this, uh – landing strategy thing – what is that? Will you be dropping us off, or something?"

_Please say yes… please say yes…_

"No," Ozpin said calmly, shattering all hopes he had alongside the word. "You will be falling."

Welp. There went any hope he had. This would be the end of Jaune Arc.

"Oh… so, uh, will you be handing out parachutes, or something?"

"No. You will be using your own landing strategy."

With that, Ozpin pressed a button in his Scroll, and the first of the students began being launched into the forest, sans parachute.

Welp. There went any hope he had. This would be the end of Jaune Arc, huntsman-in-training-who-cheated-his-way-to-Beacon. Kind of a lengthy title, actually. Maybe one day, they'd use his life as a precautionary tale, like the story of the Boy Who Cried Beowolf –

"Question, headmaster?" Someone asked off from one side.

Hope swelled within Jaune. Someone else had a question! It wasn't just him! He looked over at his potential comrade-in-arms.

Hey, wasn't that the one he had seen talking to Ruby earlier? The other natural blonde guy?

"Yes, Mister Elric?"

"Just to confirm, all we need to do is to get to where the relics are placed, make eye contact with a partner, and get back here, right? We are free to do everything else in any way?"

Oh, no… that didn't sound like something another hopeless soul would say…

"That is correct, Mister Elric."

"Thanks. Just wanted to make sure."

With that, he clapped his hands and brought them down to the ground below. Sparks of brilliant blue radiated from his hands – wasn't that from one of the issues of X-ray and Vav? – before the very ground itself began to shake and move.

Yeah… Jaune was starting to get the feeling this person might be just a teeny bit more competent than he was.

No. Way.

He stared, his mouth agape, and he knew he wasn't alone. A massive _trebuchet_ was now formed in front of the boy, brilliantly decorated with ornate carvings of all manner of beasts, its red and yellow surface matching his outfit. He smirked widely as he loaded himself into the long arm.

"That can launch a ninety kilogram projectile over three hundred meters!" Jaune blurted out. He knew that much from browsing the CCT on his Scroll.

"It's gonna launch me _waaay_ further than that, with this design and the height of the cliff," the boy said.

Then, he clapped his hands once more, and paused briefly to turn over to the massive armoured knight standing some distance away, that Jaune had also seen him with before. "Hey, Al! We'll partner up and head straight for the relic!"

With that, he placed his hands on the twin beams made of stone that kept the long arm primed that would have normally been made of rope in any trebuchet built by a _normal_ person. Sparks of blue light danced once more, as the stone structure disassembled, and the arm swung in a wide arc to launch its humanoid projectile far into the forest.

"_Woohoo!" _his voice gradually faded away into the distance.

For a moment, there was silence, as all those assembled tracked his progress with their eyes. Even Ozpin stopped sending students plunging to their doom for the moment.

"He's gonna miss, isn't he?" Yang asked no one in particular.

"Indeed, Miss Xiao-Long," Ozpin said, sipping on his coffee calmly.

Rather than sailing straight through the air to where the Relics were being held, he was blown slightly off course, and if he continued his current trajectory he would need to backtrack to get to the Relics.

"Oh, son of a –" his voice barely reached them from this distance.

Then the one in armoured sighed deeply.

"Not again…" he grumbled. "You need to stop doing these things, brother!"

Wait, did he say brother?

He clapped his hands, placed them on the floor, and again a trebuchet of gargantuan proportions appeared. This one was decorated much more plainly, but given the absolutely humongous counterweight that had to support the mass of his armour it was no less intimidating.

Just before he too would have launched himself into the forest, he turned to face the teachers at the front. "Sorry Headmaster, Professor, Miss Amber!"

"Good luck out there, Al!" Ruby waved.

"Thank you! You too!"

Then, he too was sent plummeting straight through the air, following right after where his brother had gone.

A few seconds later, Ozpin returned to looking at the remaining students, many of whom were tracking the crazy brothers in their descent. Again, he took a slow sip, as he restarted his sinister plan for mass murder of students. Yang was sent flying off, followed shortly by Ruby.

"I hope that answers your question, Mister Arc."

Oh, Brothers, he was going to die.

Within moments, he too was flying well above the Emerald Forest, begging for someone to save him.

* * *

**Yes, the only real reason why I wrote this was to include trebuchet memes.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hours of frenzied writing later, and this chapter finally came out, much like a turd after several hours of digestion. Not that happy with how this turned out. Tried to get some plot ideas across, but the action scenes fell a little flat. Uploading it anyway, because Initiation is a pain to write and the thought of rewriting it now alone saps all interest for the story (much like the draft for half a chapter of A Raven's Flock I've been sitting on for a month now… oops). Not proofread, _and_ at least half written on the phone, so probably plenty of mistakes abound.**

* * *

Slowly, he drifted down toward the ground, parachute trailing in the air behind him. He bent down into a roll, his automail limb creaking slightly from the impact, but without incurring any real damage that he could discern. He slid along the dirt for some distance, before finally coming to a halt as his transmuted parachute crumpled untidily behind him.

Heh. Nailed it.

With a clap of his hands, he reverted the parachute back into his red cloak, once again securing it onto his person and hiding his automail arm away from prying eyes. Thankfully, they had come across the existence of these 'parachutes' in a book, which gave him a spark of inspiration after that other student mentioned them.

That he had a, uh… slight miscalculation was an annoyance, but it'd be boring otherwise. He told himself that, at least.

Now, then. Time to find Al, become partners, and get to this relic. Ozpin's task for Initiation seemed like it would be at least a little interesting, when compared to how the State Alchemist examination had been.

He estimated his current position relative to his objective. With how he'd been sent off course, he was now a fair distance north-west to where the relic should be.

He readied a lance in his hands, his preferred weapon of choice for when he wanted his automail arm hidden. He could handle a couple Grimm on his own while searching for Al.

"You need to stop being so reckless, brother!"

He looked up toward the sky. Al was flying through the air, and he meant that quite literally. Glider-like wings had sprouted from his armour, yet another bit of technological know-how they had picked up from their reading.

Bingo. "I see you got blown off-course, too!"

"I had to chase after you!" Al's voice faded slightly, as he was carried away by his trajectory deeper into the trees.

Ed grinned. Now this was familiar territory. He'd do something reck – no, he'd do something _amazing_, and Al would come hurrying after him to bail him out.

He hurried to catch up after Al, as the armoured body of his brother deftly turned this way and that with surprising grace to avoid trees and foliage. Maybe he should have tried making a glider of his own, too – Al's method seemed a lot more comfortable than his own parachute.

It was then, then he caught movement at the corner of his eye. There was a flash of darkness, and the only warning he had was a low growl before the teeth of a Beowolf came gnawing down where his arm would have been had he not dodged.

"Gah!" He rolled into a stance, alchemy primed, with his lance held in front of him. He caught the sight of thin scraps of red cloth caught in its teeth.

Damn it, he'd just transmuted that, too. This Grimm was going to pay.

As the Grimm prepared another charge, the ground beneath its front paws sunk into the ground, and with its momentum it was sent flipping over onto its back. Ed didn't waste any further time.

The lance pierced through its flesh, and the creature stilled momentarily before dissipating. He hurried on further into the trees, keeping track of Al's descent. Like Ed, he bent his knees as he neared the ground, and with a soft _crunch _both from the metal of his body and the dirt beneath him, he came to a stop.

"Nice landing," Ed complimented, as Al reverted his armour to its original confirmation.

"Shut up," he groaned. "I think… I think that if I had my old body, I would be throwing up about now."

Heh. Ed thumped his brother hard on his shoulder. "Guess we're partners, then. No surprises there."

"You think?" Al glared at him. "I had to launch myself off a cliff to chase after you. Thanks for that, by the way."

He knew Al didn't feel any real vitriol toward him – he simply wasn't _capable_ of that – but he did sound mildly annoyed now.

"Aww, come on, Al," he said, grinning. "At least now we're loads closer to the temple than the rest of the students! It's efficient!"

"It's not funny! We've got to be at least a few hundred metres off the mark!"

"We better get moving, then."

Already, he could hear some rustling further off in the forest, shrouded by the dense canopy of trees. On hindsight, his chosen method of 'landing strategy' (as that student so eloquently put it) may have been just a bit too attention-grabbing.

"This way," Al said, pointing off to one side.

Ed nodded. Together, they walked in the opposite direction that their makeshift siege weapon had taken them, back toward where the relics lay.

-o-o-o-

"We seem to have gotten an enthusiastic bunch this year," Glynda commented idly.

"I assume you're referring to the Elric brothers?" Ozpin intoned in an equally dry manner, his index finger extended from his hand holding his coffee cup, to point toward the trebuchets that _still_ stood proudly near the cliff edge.

"Among others, yes."

Amber continued staring at the feed from her Scroll. Already, partnerships were starting to form. She'd barely been brought up to speed on the batch of students that had been accepted into the year over the past few weeks since her impromptu appointment, but she could already see potential friction within certain pairings.

Sure, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie would be more than able to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, having practically grown up together since the destruction of their home village, but most other students were not quite so fortunate. She winced as she continued watching the ongoing attempt at cooperation that Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee were engaged in. She'd bet a fair amount of lien that either of them alone could subdue the small pack of Grimm currently chasing them, given what their records noted of their combat capabilities, but their previous attempt at battling a single Beowolf had been near-catastrophic.

"Are you _sure_ we shouldn't send Peter and Bart further out into the forest to search for those two?" Glynda asked, a tone of concern in her voice. "Their Semblance did send them rather deep into the forest."

She wouldn't display such obvious care that broke her stern façade in front of her students. Amber knew that from personal experience, having realised just what Glynda's true personality was like only after she had been drafted into Ozpin's little group when she inherited her Maiden powers.

Amazingly, Edward and Alphonse had somehow managed to go beyond the boundary normally monitored by the cameras stationed within the Emerald Forest that had been set up for Initiation. It wasn't the first occurrence in Beacon's history, of course, since some students did tend to get lost in the forest, but as far as Amber was aware it was the first time someone had _landed_ outside of the actual grounds from the get-go.

For now, neither of them was captured on the camera feeds, although their location was still being broadcasted by their Scrolls. As far as they could tell, the brothers had landed fairly close to each other, grouped up, and were now making their way in the general direction of the temple.

"I believe that the boys will be capable of holding their own, Glynda," Ozpin said calmly. "Besides, Grimm activity within the vicinity of Beacon is closely monitored, as I'm sure you're aware. They should be returning here soon."

Barely ten minutes since the first teams started forming, and some of them were already nearing the temple ruins. Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna would soon be claiming their relic pieces.

"I hope you're right, Ozpin," Amber weighed in, biting her lip with slight worry.

It wasn't that she didn't believe in the kids. They had proven themselves highly capable and intelligent, and from what they had displayed of the usage of their Semblance thus far it was clear that they had vast experience in exploiting its use in unorthodox and creative ways.

What troubled her was that unlike other huntsmen, they seemed to avoid the core tools made available to their profession. Where Aura and Dust were virtually indispensable to their kind, the boys seemed to steer clear away from them.

…come to think of it, she'd never actually ever _seen _them making use of either of those tools, she realised with some dread. Sure, they hadn't been in combat situations since they met, but even in their recounts of their battles against Grimm or their attackers, they had never once mentioned Dust or Aura. They didn't even have proper _weapons_!

Damn that Edward. She_ knew _that she should have intervened once she saw him about to do something as crazy as launching himself with a trebuchet.

"Do not fret, Amber," Ozpin comforted her with confidence, taking his eyes off his Scroll for the moment. "Even should they find themselves in harm's way, they have shown themselves to be highly resourceful. If they could shake off your attackers, dealing with common Grimm should be a simple task."

It was, of course, at that moment that Jaune Arc found himself being flung through the air by a fairly sizable Death Stalker, screaming all the while.

"Common Grimm, you say?"

"Hmm," he made a non-committal sound, sipping at his coffee. How there even was still any left in the cup, Amber had no clue. "As they say, adversity is the greatest catalyst for growth."

"He sure seems to be in need of it," she commented, frowning, as he tumbled and flailed in mid-air. "Are you sure he's really ready for this? I know that the Arcs are a well-respected line of huntsmen, but thus far his skills have been subpar."

Glynda joined in the conversation, tapping some buttons on her Scroll. "His transcripts were excellent, though. By all metrics, he should easily fall within the average of this year's intake, if not better."

Amber glanced over to the aforementioned transcripts that Glynda had pulled up. Indeed, while he didn't quite have a glowing reference or any truly exceptional talent in any field, he performed decently across the board in Combat School.

Ozpin chuckled. "If skill was all that mattered, Salem would long have been dealt with. No, Amber, Glynda; his transcripts were faked."

Ah, yes. That made sense.

Wait. Amber paused momentarily, thinking that she had misheard what Ozpin had just said.

Glynda's outburst a second later told her that no, her ears were working just fine.

"They were _what?!" _she practically exclaimed, her facial expression morphing rapidly from confusion, then to realisation, then shock and fury. "Ozpin, I know that you have plenty of leeway in running the school, but I must raise my objections to taking him on as a student!"

"Glynda," he said calmly. "Please, trust me on this. I know it's a lot to ask for, but I believe that people _can _change, given the opportunity." He faced away from them, looking over the cliff edge. "I will admit to having some reservations of my own regarding his enrolment. Still, I believe that Beacon will provide him an opportunity to become the kind of huntsmen we need against our unseen enemy. I believe that it is his inexperience that is _precisely _what Beacon needs right now. Take a look at his personal statement, and see if you disagree."

Amber watched as Glynda promptly pulled up the necessary information on her Scroll. She peeked over the headmistress' shoulder, skimming over the lines of text.

Hmm… if she was being blunt, it sounded like the stereotypical statement for entry into a Huntsmen Academy. He wanted to protect others, wanted to become a hero, felt a need to uphold his family legacy, but there was something else there that seemed slightly different.

"It was clear from reading what he'd written that he didn't have the first clue of what Aura was, or just how Dust could be used in combat applications, or how to exploit the weaknesses of different Grimm," Ozpin said, as Glynda continued studying what he'd written intently.

Yes, that was it. Naivety.

…how was that supposed to help in any way?!

"Ozpin, now I _really _don't understand," Amber admitted. "You're saying you know everything about him was faked, and you let him in anyway?"

"I believe that Mister Arc will soon come to realise just what kind of world he has put himself into. When that time comes, I intend to see if he will adapt and push himself forward, or if he will bend and break." Ozpin's expression was unreadable. "Make no mistake – if by the end of the first semester, he has shown only minimal progress, I will not hesitate to expel him. However, I believe that his naivety of an altogether different sort from the likes of Miss Rose's will be important in influencing the development of his peers."

"Now I'm even more confused, Ozpin."

"Put it this way," he said. "I trust you're aware of Team STRQ?"

"Of course! Even before I became the Maiden, their exploits were the stuff of legend." Amber cocked her head to one side. "How is that relevant, though?"

"Team STRQ was one of the greatest teams Beacon has produced. They were one of my foremost prides in my time as headmaster, and yet also one of my greatest shames."

"What do you mean?"

"Each member of Team STRQ was a gifted huntsman or huntress in their own right, even at the time of Initiation. I don't think any batch of students since has beaten their record of completing the assigned task." Ozpin smiled wistfully. "And yet, I believe it was exactly this excellence that ultimately led to their dissolution. I won't deny my hand in the matter, but I believe Raven left for Mistral and her tribe also because she could never see the _value _of vulnerability, surrounded by the likes of Summer, Taiyang and Qrow. Their spirits fractured, and it ultimately led to the loss of one of my dearest students."

This was a side to Ozpin that Amber hadn't seen before. He still sounded calm, but there was some unspeakable _emotion _there she couldn't identify. If she had to describe it, Ozpin sounded immensely tired, as though bearing a burden that could never be cast aside.

"And you think that his presence here will benefit the other students?" Amber asked.

Glynda had taken her eyes off her Scroll, listening to Ozpin intently. Her anger had diminished somewhat, but her glare was still beyond intimidating.

"Possibly. It was a gamble I had to take," he said. "There were real risks – and there _are _still risks – but I think it is a simple soul like his that will most nurture those around him."

Amber watched, as he attempted to claw himself out of a tree he'd somehow found himself stuck in from where he'd been sent flying. He clumsily caught Weiss Schnee in midair, before they both fell to the ground below.

Amber caught Glynda's hand twitching at that. No doubt, her disciplinarian side was starting to itch.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Ozpin," she muttered. "Teams have been ruined for something far less than a poorly trained member."

At least that now explained why he had given explicit instructions for Peter and Bart to keep an eye out for the students as they landed into the forest. Having to explain why a student went _splat_ during Initiation wasn't something she'd like to ever experience.

"Time will tell, Amber," he said enigmatically. "Time will tell."

"I'm making it completely clear at this time that I will not coddle him, Ozpin," Glynda warned, scrutinising him intently. "I will push him hard in my classes. One step out of line, or if his progress is less than satisfactory, and I _will_ have words with you."

"I do not expect anything less, Glynda."

"And you, Amber. I expect you to do the same with him in your classes."

Glynda said that in such an intimidating manner, that it reminded her of the times she had been caught slacking off in Glynda's classes all those years ago as her student. She gulped. "Yes ma'am!"

"It appears that our two teams have banded together," Ozpin noted.

Amber looked at her Scroll. Indeed, the most promising of the new students were making their way past the bridge that joined the familiar hills and ruins that they had to pass to return back to the cliffs. She'd gone past that same area during her own Initiation.

At some point, a giant Nevermore had joined the fray, and they were now beginning to make a stand against the two Grimm chasing them within the cover of the ruins. She was about to study their fight more closely, when something on one of the other screens caught her eye.

"They're back!"

The Elric brothers were finally caught by one of the cameras, the one closest to the temple ruins. They were running at a rapid pace, reshaping the earth every now and then to leap and bound across the forest floor. Alphonse pointed forward, in the direction of where the relics were held, while Edward was…

…he was looking back every few steps, his eyes wide, with multiple rips and scraps on his red cloak.

Uh oh. That didn't bode well.

"Oh, dear."

A crowd of Grimm were chasing after them, now entering the view of the cameras. She estimated their numbers quickly, even as more ran past the field of view. Ten, twenty, thirty –

"I thought you said Grimm numbers were in check!" she immediately whirled on Ozpin.

He frowned. "Something isn't right."

Edward had grabbed the last relic – a white queen piece – before reshaping the entirety of the remaining stone ruins into a massive arm of stone that swept at the rapidly approaching Beowolves and Boarbatusks. Their formation was destroyed, their bodies sent careening into trees or dirt, but they –

"Why are they still chasing after them?" Glynda spoke, staring unblinkingly at her Scroll.

Sure enough, unlike most Grimm that eventually stopped their pursuit after a brief period, such as those earlier encountered by Ruby and Weiss, these were doggedly following after the two brothers. They were hastily creating barriers and pitfalls to slow their advance, while generating footholds and platforms of his own to boost his manoeuvrability and evade them. Despite being separated by walls that should have stopped further pursuit, the Grimm were simply circumventing the obstacles in their path and homing in on their quarry.

"This isn't normal Grimm behaviour," she warned. "We need to do something!"

Based on their direction they were heading, they would be on a straight collision course with the other two groups –

"Peter, Bart, please proceed to the west ruins to provide aid if necessary," Ozpin was already giving instructions through his Scroll, his voice one of utter seriousness. "Hold your assistance until given the signal."

"Ozpin, they can't handle this group!" Hell, she'd seen more senior students fall short to the number of Grimm they now faced.

"Have faith, Amber. Rest assured, they will not come to harm."

"I hope you know what you're doing, Ozpin," she muttered, staring transfixed at her Scroll.

_Why _were the Grimm behaving so differently? Could it be that…

"Is it their bodies?"

Ozpin considered for a moment, his brows furrowed.

"I don't think so," Ozpin finally said. "A lack of a body shouldn't cause an increase in aggression like this. This seems more akin to their behaviour when facing particularly dense clusters of negative emotions."

"Is that what's happening?"

"I do not think so."

What, then? What was causing this abnormal behaviour?

-o-o-o-

Why the hell were they _still _chasing after them?

"Brother!" Al shouted, as yet another series of pillars erupted from the ground behind him, sending yet more Beowolves tumbling away.

"Al! Up ahead! Hurry!"

Shortly after they wandered back from their landing site, it became painfully obvious that the Grimm were being attracted to them. No matter what they did, they seemed intent on chasing after them even. Even if they slew a few Grimm more quickly came to replace them. They had decided that an all-out retreat was necessary, and had transmuted as many barriers as they could while engaging in a fighting retreat.

They didn't even have time for complex transmutations. Sure, riding a wave of earth sounded like an excellent idea, but continually reshaping the ground while avoiding trees and other obstacles was nigh impossible, especially since a continuous single use of alchemy such as that application meant that he couldn't easily dodge an attack while maintaining his alchemy.

The sight and sound of explosions ahead caught his attention. Stone structures were visible up ahead, now that they had cleared the treeline, and they could _finally _have some decent material to work with. A deep ravine separates the side of the cliff they were currently on from the ruined stone.

It was then, that he felt something collide against his side, and he tumbled to the ground painfully.

"Gah!"

"Brother!"

Despite being dazed, he quickly tried his best to recover, ensnaring the offending Grimm with a complex weaving network of stone that wrapped around its body. He panted heavily, tired out by the minutes of frantic sprinting they had done.

Heavy arms wrapped around him, as Al quickly dragged him away from yet another group of Grimm. Despite the many disadvantages Al's armour brought, he was thankful that he at least didn't tire at all, no matter how rigorous the activity.

"Ed, you transmute, I'll run!"

That was a good plan. He didn't think he could keep up the pace for much longer. He bent over, as Al carried him under one arm, building up walls upon walls of earth that at least slowed their attackers down.

Why were the Grimm so relentless?

The obvious answer was the damned Stone in his pocket. He didn't think that he was feeling particularly negative at the moment, despite the predicament they found themselves in, and the only other alternative he could think of was the Stone.

They were nearing the bridge, now.

Wait, who the hell _broke _the bridge?

"Brother –"

"Keep going forward!" Ed shouted, already readying a transmutation. "I'll make a path!"

He hoped he had enough raw material to build something that could support their combined weight quickly enough. Stone extended out from the cliff edge, Alphonse's feet practically falling onto newly built pathways across the chasm that separated the set of cliffs they were on to the ruins that would lead back up to Beacon cliffs.

The Grimm were being funnelled, now, slowing their advance slightly, but there were easily forty or so Grimm practically on their tails. With a final burst of stone, the walkway was completed, and he hurriedly began deconstructing his makeshift pathway.

"Ed! Al! Look out!"

_Ruby? _He tried to turn, while maintaining concentration on his alchemy, when a shadow grew overhead –

Alphonse tumbled into a roll, barely dodging a massive black feather that would have skewered right into them, unprepared for the attack and relatively untrained with Aura as they were. They slammed into the base of a tower, disturbing some stone and dust from their impact.

A flash of red petals blurred past, and the Nevermore that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere from the other side of the ruins that they couldn't see changed its course. Ruby appeared suddenly from amidst the petals, holding her weapon in its rifle form in her hands as she aimed at the Nevermore.

"Heya, guys! Where have you –" She paused for an instant. "Oh."

"Run!"

Al had deposited him on the ground, and they both knew what the other was thinking. Quickly, he used his alchemy to generate footholds that he could use to scale up the tower, while Al transmuted a pillar of earth to raise himself up at a slower pace. Ruby darted between approaching Grimm, jumping from platform to platform to evade them.

"Ed, let's split up!"

Al leapt off from his pillar when it was halfway up the tower, then grabbed onto a stone outcropping and created a horizontal beam stemming from it toward another nearby tower. He ran along the beam, launching spears of stone on the Beowolves below as he did so, before Ed was blocked by the ruined stone structures and lost sight of his brother.

"Hey! The party's all together now!" Yang grinned cheekily, landing from a higher level onto his chosen platform. "Seems like you've brought a whole crowd with you, huh?"

…how could she be so cheerful at a time like this?!

"Really not a good time to talk!"

He clapped his hands quickly, visualising the first transmutation circle he could think of that would achieve his desired goal without caring for efficiency, then practically slammed it into the stone surface. A ballista formed from up on the tower, and its massive stone projectile launched toward the earthen bridge he had created.

The walkway shook, but it didn't break. Damn it. He'd reinforced the structure too much to account for their own weight, but unless they deconstructed it on their own he doubted he could collapse the bridge he had made. Considering that more Grimm were crossing on that pathway, and beginning to swarm at the base of the tower and climbing up all the structures in sight, he doubted he could get close enough to touch and destroy his bridge.

"What the hell did you do to piss that many of them off?" Yang asked, punching a few Beowolves that were climbing up to their position. Her Dust rounds exploded as they contacted the Grimm, sending them plummeting down the ravine.

"Hell if I know!"

"Ed, Yang, Nevermore!"

The Grimm had circled back around, and another volley of black feathers were flying toward them. He swore loudly, barely blocking them with a hastily erected wall of stone.

That reprieve was not to last, however, because the Nevermore simply barrelled straight through it. His eyes widened, as he caught sight of its open jaw barely a few metres from his face –

Yang grabbed him, and tossed him up onto higher ground, before evading the Grimm's dive and jumping _right onto its back._

"Deal with the little ones!" Yang shouted, as she flew away on the Grimm. "This one's mine!"

…and Al called _him _reckless?

"Yang!" He heard Ruby shout from somewhere. "Blake, Weiss! Regroup! We'll take down the Nevermore! Jaune! You guys help out Ed and Al after you take out the Death Stalker!"

He had no idea who Jaune was, but Ed would welcome any help he could get at the moment.

Quickly, he transmuted yet more constructs. Cannons, ballistae, spears, even simple _rocks_… Grimm were pierced by projectiles or crushed by stone, or simply sent to their deaths as they fell to the bottom of the ravine, but the place was now swarming with several tens of them. With how high up he was, they would need some time to reach him. He needed to deal with the ones still crossing the bridge, but he couldn't get close enough.

Ideas… what could he do against an endless tide of Grimm hellbent on nothing else other than to attack him for some inexplicable reason, _potentially _the Stone in his possession but with no real evidence for the fact –

He remembered an entirely _different _kind of seemingly endless bodies. The Immortal Legion, imbued with Philosopher's Stones, as they swarmed around him, Scar, and the chimeras.

He remembered how with a single damned transmutation, Mustang had utterly annihilated them while avoiding the slightest bit of damage to their group.

It wasn't an option before, when he and Al had been fleeing from them in the forest, not unless he wanted to set the entire place ablaze and possibly kill themselves in the process. He didn't quite have the colonel's ridiculous control and accuracy, but that really wasn't necessary here. None of the other students were engaging this horde of Grimm, and even if they were they were located in higher ground. There weren't any real risks of the fire spreading if his control should prove insufficient.

In that case, then Mustang's brand of Flame Alchemy would be more than simple to perform. The hardest bit of it was controlling exactly _where _the flame went, but if everything down below could be safely incinerated, then it was just a matter of simple oxygen transmutation and providing a single spark. He'd copied parts of Scar's and Major Armstrong's alchemy before, and now used Greed's Ultimate Shield as part of his regular repertoire. The colonel's alchemy couldn't be that much more difficult.

He didn't have pyrotex gloves like the pyromaniac of a colonel, but what he did have was alchemical versatility. What could most easily provide a spark? Ideas rushed by quickly.

Flint and tinder? No, that wasn't suitable; too unreliable and time-consuming…

Lighter? No, too complicated, and hydrocarbons for fuel weren't something available to him at present, but something more simple –

Phosphorous. He needed phosphorous. These rocks… he tried a transmutation, but it didn't take hold. Unlike limestone or mudstone, the stone that comprised that ruins didn't have enough phosphate content for him to rip elemental phosphorous out from it.

"Come on… think…"

His body was moving on autopilot, flipping and vaulting off the bodies of approaching Grimm, kicking and punching them where he could. As they charged, he dove underneath their bodies, using their own momentum against them to throw them back down the tower forcefully, as teacher had done with them so many times before.

All he needed were trace amounts of phosphorous, less than a gram even. If there wasn't any around –

He could have kicked himself in the head. The answer was obvious.

His left hand clutched the Stone in his pocket, as he hastily called upon the transmutation array. The power came readily, much like that of a Philosopher's Stone would, and without even having to clap his hands to close the circular flow of energy, he held a matchstick in his right hand, hidden discretely in his palm. A second burst of yellow light erupted from his hand, and a hard, bumpy surface much like the abrasive glass of one side of a matchbox was formed.

Hopefully, none of the cameras would have caught that little disruption to his normal alchemy, given how subtle his little show of seemingly non-equivalent alchemy had been.

All he needed to do now was to line them up. Mustang could have somehow gotten his flames to dance and bend in ways that would destroy these Grimm even around corners, but Ed didn't quite have that level of expertise.

…yeah, he was going to have do something very stupid.

He abandoned his high ground, leaping off it to a nearby stone wall, quickly generating new footholds from which he could vault off. Again and again he repeated that, the Grimm still chasing him with a frenzy, until he was on the same level as the horde now closing in. He ran further into the ruins, his eyes on the prize up ahead. A stone tower stood proudly across a long bridge, the only means of getting to that location on foot.

As he ran, he could see Ruby running up along a cliff, dragging the massive Nevermore with her, but he didn't have time to comprehend just what was going on there. There was another group of students nearby, dealing with a giant scorpion Grimm that Ruby had termed a Death Stalker.

"Everyone! Stand clear!"

"Brother?" Al's voice came from somewhere higher up and to the side.

"Perfect timing! Al, get over here!"

He made it to the other side of the bridge, and turned around. Ed observed the Grimm carefully, little beads of sweat building up in his left palm.

A second later, Al's armoured body slammed down onto the ground, running up to Ed's side. His armour bore scratches and dents, and marks of some hasty transmutation based on how the armour had thinned.

"Al, get ready to build a wall!"

"What are you doing, Ed?"

He was under no illusion that he could perfectly control Flame Alchemy, a discipline notorious for its sheer destructive power. There was no way he could get it right on his first try, but precision didn't matter so long as the Grimm burned.

He struck the matchstick, judging the distance between them and the Grimm. Twenty metres. Fifteen.

Flesh and steel hands met together with a resounding clap, as his mind thought only of the transmutation circle on Mustang's gloves. Ten metres.

A thin cylindrical line of oxygen stemming from the tip of his automail finger, meeting a significantly larger cuboidal construct of hydrogen and oxygen that encompassed the entirety of the Grimm horde. In that regard, his desired transmutation wasn't that much different from creating a hammer.

And so, it was with that simplified and bastardised model of Flame Alchemy that he willed his transmutation into being, and he brought his matchstick up to meet the formless wick of oxygen.

A spark of fire danced from his finger, drifting toward the approaching Grimm.

Then, with a resounding explosion of light and sound, his world exploded into colour. The cries of Grimm came a second later.

"Al!"

He could feel the _heat_ radiating toward him, sharply cut off as a thick barrier of stone rose up from the ground. Flames parted around it, twin arcs of brilliant orange flowing as a stream by their side. His cloak had caught fire – unused to the transmutation as he was, he hadn't accounted for _diffusion_ of the gas – and he hurriedly tossed it aside.

He panted rapidly, his heart thumping wildly, as the flames finally vanished when his transmuted gases were readily consumed. With shaking hands, he deconstructed the wall that Al had created.

Most of the Grimm had been burnt into nothingness. A few were thrashing on the ground, some even throwing themselves off into the ravine in wild rage. Those that could still stand were few, and he could _finally _fight them properly on even footing.

His automail arm was already exposed. No sense in hiding his favoured fighting style anymore.

With a battle-cry, he transmuted a thin blade of mixed carbon and iron from the tip of his automail arm, and charged into the fray. Al joined beside him, holding a sword of his own design.

Now, with only four enemies, dealing with them was but a paltry task. Within a few seconds of evading claws and teeth while dishing out strikes of his own, the Grimm were all slain.

He grinned broadly, turning to Al, who slumped over. His own knees gave way a second later.

"That's a little _too_ reckless, even for you, brother," he said, shaking his head.

A brief moment passed, before he began laughing with relief, and Ed joined him. It continued for a long while, before they finally subsided, and he could feel his breathing easing.

"Ed! Al!"

They both turned at the voice. Ruby was approaching them, leaping down from higher up, and skidding to a halt as she arrested her momentum against a pillar with her scythe. "I saw what happened! Are you two alright?"

How had she even scaled down the cliff that Ed had last seen her dragging the Nevermore along, anyway?

"That was crazy! There were so many Beowolves, and then Al was all like _kriiish, _and Ed was like _bwooosh, _and then both of you were like _boooom!_ And then – _oh my God, what happened to your arm?!_"

He cursed silently. His ruined red cloak lay in cinders, blackened over where he had discarded it, and his automail arm was on full display.

Well, the cat was out of the bag, now. He sighed, then became startled when he saw Ruby's worried eyes.

"Yes, it's a prosthetic, Ruby," he said uncomfortably, as she continued staring. "I lost my real one in an accident."

…technically, it wasn't even a lie.

"Doesn't it hurt?"

"Not at all." He moved his arm around for emphasis.

Blake, Yang and Weiss were starting to approach, now, alongside the other team he had seen for brief instants during his retreat. They didn't miss their little exchange, their eyes homing in on the subject of Ruby's interest.

Yang glanced over at his arm, her eyes widening for a moment, before she shrugged.

"Huh. Nice arm." Then, she turned to Ruby, quickly embracing her. "Hey, Rubes! Great job with the Nevermore! I'm _sooooo_ proud!"

"Yang! Stop it!"

Weiss and Blake didn't offer any comment, and their expressions were unreadable. Good. That was the reaction that he much preferred.

"Hey! You two were the crazy ones who launched yourselves by trebuchet!" Ed recognised the blonde-haired student that had given him the idea for parachutes, and their chosen 'landing strategy' in the first place.

Now that he thought about it, perhaps it wasn't his best idea. If they'd faced any more trouble earlier, they wouldn't have been able to encounter other students for help.

"Oh! Introductions! Ed, Al, these are Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren. Everyone, meet Edward and Alphonse!" Ruby enthusiastically introduced, pointing at each of them in turn.

Jaune was gaping at the blackened stone from his half-baked attempt at Flame Alchemy, and then at his now exposed automail arm. Despite his surprise, Ed could tell just how tired he was, given that he felt much the same. He must have had a rough experience in Initiation as well.

"Pleased to meet you," was all Ren said. He had taken a glance at his arm, furrowed his brows for a moment, but then returned to an expression of calm within instants.

Yeah, Ed thought he could get along with him. Much better than –

"NORA!" the overly bubbly girl introduced herself once again, grinning broadly. "I'm a _big _fan. I saw those trebuchets and catapults of yours! Hey, do you think you could make me some of those, too? I want to be Queen of the Castle! Hey, Rennie, can you make those giant crossbow thingies too?"

"They're called ballistae, Nora, and no," Ren said, sighing, ignoring how Nora clung and pounded at his shoulder, begging for (and he would quote) '_siege weapons of mass destruction'_ of her own.

Ed blinked, then shook his head. Already, far too much had happened, and he was beyond exhausted. Sure, he'd fought against homunculi before, even going up against Father, but battling them in an adrenaline-fuelled burst of fighting was markedly different from engaging in a prolonged retreat from a horde of bloodthirsty Grimm, reshaping the local environment to one that favoured them, and then having to come up with an impromptu mimicry of Flame Alchemy to annihilate the Grimm while hoping he didn't accidentally burn himself to a crisp.

The last member of their group didn't introduce herself, instead simply watching them closely, with a hint of apprehension. Pyrrha Nikos was just stood there, and the look in her eyes seemed as though she was bracing herself for some kind of attack.

What was that about? Was it his arm? Was it Al's armour?

Well, it wasn't any of his business. She seemed surprised by his indifference, but honestly he was too tired to care.

"Nice to meet you all," he said, then turned away from her. "Come on, guys, let's head back. I'm beyond exhausted."

"_Same_!" Jaune cried out. "Finally! Someone _normal_!"

"Hey! We're plenty normal! Ren, we're normal, aren't we?"

"Come on, Nora. Let's get moving."

They continued bickering. Ed turned to face Al, who seemed mentally bogged down, despite having a body that didn't know pain or fatigue.

"All good, Al?"

"Good?" His voice sounded strained. "_Good_? Come on, Ed! First, I had to follow with your crazy trebuchet idea, and then we get chased by an entire _horde_ of Grimm, and then you spring something reckless like this on me again?" His voice rose in amplitude as he spoke, before he sighed. "I'm so glad that's all over with."

Oh, no. Al was chewing him out again. Thankfully, he knew just exactly how to address his growing annoyance.

"Thanks for looking out for me, Al." He thumped his brother on the chest-plate. "Really."

"Awww, look at them! That's so sweet!" Yang interrupted their moment. She turned to face the other students. "What?"

"Let's just get moving," Ed sighed, standing up and dusting himself off.

Soot from his final burst of alchemy scattered in the wind. Slowly, they began to head off from the ruins, and Ed followed behind them.

He felt something tugging on his arm. He turned, and saw Ruby standing by his side, glancing worriedly at him.

"Are you _sure_ you're okay?" Her eyes darted to his automail.

'_Is it really okay? Doesn't it hurt?' Nina asked, pressing down hard on his metallic fingers, but looked at him with obvious concern. _

He blinked. The familiar visage of Nina Tucker faded.

Great. Now he was hallucinating, too.

"It was a long time ago, Ruby. We've learnt to accept the price of our mistakes."

"How did…" she hesitated for a moment. "How did it happen?"

"It doesn't matter," he brushed her aside. "Come on. We need to get back."

He hurried on ahead, leaving her behind with Al. From his back, he could hear his brother hurriedly explaining to her.

"Brother means well, Ruby. It's just – we don't want to talk about the accident."

"…okay," he heard Ruby say softly, but still sounded reluctant.

She probably wouldn't put the matter aside, which was annoying. He could leave that for later discussion with Al, though. For now, all he wanted to do was get back to Beacon, put everything that had just happened behind him, and continue reading his damn book.

-o-o-o-

"Alright, I'll bite," Amber broke the silence, as they all watched the few screens laid out in front of them. "Was _that_ magic?"

Too much had been happening simultaneously over the last few minutes. Somehow, all ten of those students had managed to converge on the exact same location – the west ruins, she thought Ozpin called it – and fought off against Grimm that should have proved challenging even to students in their first semester at Beacon, never mind those who hadn't yet started.

She had only been dimly aware of the rather unorthodox manner that the nascent team RWBY utilised to slay the Nevermore that had been hounding them. Team JNPR had likewise dispatched the Death Stalker, and she could see that just perhaps Ozpin had a point in his decision to enrol Jaune Arc. He did have quite some good ideas in directing those of his unknowing team to come.

Her attention had been focused on the last remaining screen, her eyes glued to the one showcasing Edward and Alphonse. They had split up, diverting the stream of Grimm, but she couldn't help but see the flaws in their fighting styles. They knew the basics extraordinarily well, but it was almost as though they had practiced against human opponents to the neglect of the Grimm. They focused on counterattacks, grapples and throws, but such were largely less effective than swift, forceful strikes.

Worse, they didn't make much use of Aura or Dust. Where they didn't use their Semblance, their strikes were of diminished usefulness, as though they hadn't fully called upon their Aura to enhance their blows. Only a fraction of their true power had been brought to bear.

More than once, she had yelled for Ozpin to give the order for Peter and Bart to assist them, given that they had been hiding out just nearby for some time. Ozpin had repeatedly denied her request, saying something about wanting to see just what the brothers would be capable of when stretched to their limits.

As it turned out, they could do a _lot_.

"_Shall we return, Ozpin_?" Port's voice came from the Scroll. "_The students appear to have handled themselves remarkably well."_

"Please do, Peter. Thank you."

"_We seem to have gotten ourselves a bumper crop this year, haven't we? I can't wait to regale them with stories of my own in class."_

Amber shivered. Those poor souls. She remembered how her own classes in Grimm Studies had gone.

Ozpin thumbed a few buttons, rearranging the screens on display. The three teams were now gathering together, sharing in the joy of victory. They had expressed some shock and surprise at his prosthetic limbs, but thankfully didn't bring much attention to it. That was good; she knew that Edward didn't like pity directed at him.

"I don't believe that to be magic, Amber," Ozpin said, returning to her question. "Beyond the fact that they are male, there wasn't any evidence of Maiden magic at play. His eyes didn't glow, for one."

She knew that. They all did.

"How do you think they did that, then? Fire Dust?"

"It was probably their Semblance. You saw yourself how Edward did that clapping gesture of his, and the blue sparks that came before the fire," Glynda spoke absentmindedly, now turning to other matters. Trying to come up with team names for their proposed groups was not an easy task.

"But what did they transmute?" She'd tried to think, to compare to the fire she had wielded as a Maiden, but no ideas came forth. Back before it had been stolen, all it had taken was concentration and fire would miraculously burst into being, driven purely by instinct.

"You could ask them yourself, Amber. They'll be returning shortly."

Oh, she would ask them, all right. And then she would make damned sure that they knew how _stupid_ they had been going into all this without Dust, and with only a meagre understanding and application of Aura.

"Back to the subject of teams, then," Ozpin spoke, placing his Scroll aside. "We have team JNPR and team RWBY, at present. Does anyone have any other suggestions?"

And there was a problem, there. Initiation accounted for students who failed to retrieve their relics, but in this case there would be an odd pair left out without a group.

Try as she might, she just couldn't see them getting along with another pair. Beyond the fact that they were adamant on keeping the truth of their bodies a secret, she doubted that they had quite the same reason for enrolment into Beacon as the others, as focussed on restoring their bodies as they were. Perhaps it was for the best that they remained as an isolated team of their own, rotating between other groups when out on later missions as Glynda had suggested.

Well, this wasn't an area she had expertise in. She listened impatiently as Glynda continued her stream of suggestions for potential teams (and more frustratingly, _names_), hoping that the Elric brothers would soon return.

-o-o-o-

"…lead by Ruby Rose!"

Ed watched as Ruby seemed almost shell-shocked by the sudden announcement of her appointment as team leader, before grinning widely, looking around the room with awe. Yang hurriedly hugged her sister. Beside him, Al was fidgeting slightly, and he knew exactly why his brother was nervous. They were the only ones still waiting to be called up.

Whose idea was it to make use of these chess pieces to decide pairings, anyway? And _why_ had Ozpin decided to introduce only a single white queen piece, that they had taken as their own relic?

It had been easy to deduce how the pairings were decided, once he overheard the others talking about the relics they had selected. It hadn't come to him as a surprise when the compositions of team RWBY and team JNPR were announced.

During the long trek back, he had plenty of time to think and reflect over his performance at Initiation. He viewed his actions with a critical eye, and saw so many defects it wasn't even funny.

For one, compared to how he had glimpsed Ruby and Yang, and to a lesser extent Blake and Weiss manoeuvre around in the ruins, his own movement seemed almost clumsy. Sure, he could make use of alchemy to build paths and launch himself across distances, but when his fellow students could do much the same thing with greater ease and much more quickly with just their weapons he felt almost inferior when compared to them.

Then, there was the other issue. The unique circle-less transmutation that could be used by those who had glimpsed the Gate of Truth was versatile, but having to clap his hands to close the circular flow of energy took time. Perhaps their retreat could have been made much easier if they had access to a ready transmutation circle like those utilised by virtually all alchemists. The alchemy that could be accessed by such a circle was much more limited, but it could be done much more quickly. He needed to give some serious thought as to whether or not to inscribe such a circle somewhere accessible.

Fighting Grimm was different from fighting humans. He was reluctant to ever have to kill a human, something he and Al had fervently sworn never to do. Grimm were entirely different, given their bloodthirsty and soulless nature. His usual transmutations weren't going to be effective against Grimm, which meant that he would annoyingly have to train himself from scratch to find something that worked. Flame Alchemy had seemed effective, but now he personally knew just how difficult it was to control its reach.

Grudgingly, he would admit that Mustang was a genius for ever mastering this singular branch of alchemy.

Finally, there was Aura and Dust. He now saw first-hand just what could be done with those two if properly utilised. Knowing about the theory of those two wasn't enough anymore, if he was going to be caught up in all of this and actually engaging in school as a proper student rather than researching ways to get their bodies back. Now, practical experience with them shared a similar priority to their actual research.

How were they going to find the time for all of this?!

"Edward Elric. Alphonse Elric," Ozpin began saying, silencing the crowd and giving pause to Ed's thoughts. Al quickly began walking up toward the stage, and Ed followed. People were pointing at them both, although he wasn't sure what caught their attention more – Al's massive armoured form? His exposed automail arm? The fact that there were only two of them?

"The two of you retrieved the White Queen piece. For this year's Initiation, there were insufficient students for all teams to have four individuals. We have decided to temporarily informally designate your team as team Elric. If there is an opportunity to shuffle students around, a more formal team will be set up. For now, both of you will be paired up with other teams for group-based tasks, pending future changes to your roster."

Ed nodded. That was better than expected, actually. Al and himself could stick together, conduct their research in secret, and wouldn't need to worry about the truth of their bodies being exposed.

Finally, something _good_ was coming out of this long day.

They stepped off the stage, waiting for the closing words and dismissal from Ozpin and Glynda.

"Teams, you will each be given access to your team rooms on your Scrolls. Please find your designated rooms and a layout of Beacon Academy in your messages." She pushed her glasses further up on her nose, frowning at them all. "Classes begin from tomorrow. You will find that your uniforms have already been deposited in your rooms. Do _not_ be late."

…did she say _uniforms_?

That was going to be a problem, and not just for him. They couldn't seriously expect Al to wear a uniform, did they?

Glynda and Ozpin had already stepped off the stage, heading back up to their offices. Edward sighed, pulling out his Scroll, opening the message that had been sent some time back. He skimmed through its contents.

Hmm… seems like they could keep the room they'd already been using. They were located along the same corridor as team RWBY and team JNPR – a coincidence that they already knew each other? – but they _should_ be able to keep their research a secret, so long as they paid attention to the comings and goings of the other teams.

"Oi, Edward! Alphonse!"

Edward turned around, only to see Amber pushing her way past excited students to reach them. He groaned. Not again. Why did she have to butt her head into their affairs?

"You two!" She stomped her way over. "What _was_ all that?"

"What?"

"That trebuchet! Those Grimm! The way you fought! _Everything!_" A torrent of words left her mouth. "You could've gotten hurt!"

Ed snorted. They were no strangers to pain. In fact, with the benefit of Aura, even with their barest understanding of it they were still far more protected than they had ever been back in Amestris.

"Honestly! You two need more practice with Aura and Dust! I don't care how well you use your Semblance, it's no substitute for –"

"We know," he interrupted her. "From tomorrow, we'll start practicing."

Their training under Izumi Curtis came back to his mind. Alchemy had never been the true focus of her teaching. _To train the spirit, first train the body, _she had told them. Somewhere along the way, since the time they had been deposited into this world where giant soulless death creatures were the norm, they had forgotten the truth of her words.

"Really?" She eyed him with suspicion. "Are you sure? You two have been hiding in your room for most of the last three weeks."

"Yeah, and we got our asses handed to us here," he groaned. Al nodded beside him, looking abashed. They had been so fixated on uncovering knowledge that had never been seen by any Amestrian, that they'd neglected even their usual sparring sessions.

"Fine," Amber finally said. "I'll tell Glynda to keep an eye on you two in combat class. Don't slack off."

"We won't, Miss Amber," Al promised, determination in his voice. He looked over at Ed, and he knew they both felt a familiar burning desire for improvement, much like years past when they had both sought their teacher's tutelage.

Amber nodded. Then, she tilted her head to one side in an expression of curiosity. "What was that last bit of transmutation that you did, anyway? I've been trying to figure it out for the past hour, but I still can't think of anything –"

She paused, watching as Al brought a massive hand to rub tiredly at his face.

"What is it?" Amber continued pestering them. "Come on, I need to know!"

"Brother was being _brother_," Al grumbled.

"I changed the composition of hydrogen and oxygen in the area broadly occupied by the Grimm, and made a thin connection for the spark to propagate," Ed said factually, ignoring Al's heated glare.

Hey, it wasn't reckless if it worked, right?

"You… you can _do _that?"

"It was the first time I tried, so my control wasn't as good as I hoped it would be." He tapped his automail arm for emphasis. "Still, we only needed to take out those Grimm. There wasn't any risk of collateral damage."

"So that's why you couldn't do that earlier and had to run away," she mused, before suddenly stiffening. "Oh, right! What _was_ up with those Grimm? Why were they chasing you like that?"

"We don't know," he half-lied. "This was the first time."

He had ideas and conjectures, but nothing concrete. Still, he wasn't about to do something stupid like reveal the existence of the Stone, and that they had taken it away from Amber when it had been overpowering her soul and nearly killing her.

They would need to experiment with that. If it did turn out that the Stone could drive the Grimm to behave that way, they would need to find some way to hide it whenever they went into a Grimm-infested area, or otherwise to improve their skills until the point where they could handle something like that again without relying on sheer luck.

"So you two don't know either?" She sounded both worried and defeated. "I thought… no, never mind that. I'll look into it. Please, take care of yourselves."

She gave them a final weak smile, patted them both on the shoulder – she needed to tiptoe to do that to Al – before taking her leave.

"We should get back and discuss our plans," Ed told his brother. "Too many things have happened today."

Al nodded. Together, they left the hall, leaving the other teams behind as they continued to mingle among one another.

They didn't notice the worried glance that Ruby was still sending them, nor the way she silently swore to find out just why the Elric brothers could simultaneously feel so friendly and yet closed off. For all that Yang might call her socially inept, she did not miss the look of relief on Edward's face when Ozpin had announced that their pair would remain on their own, or how his good fist had involuntarily tightened when she had asked about his arm.

She was interested in how it was built, of course, but concern over her newfound friend (well, she hoped he saw her as a friend, too) overrode her curiosity. He had tried to control his expression, but for a brief instant there had been a look of pain, regret and a heavy weight in his eyes.

Ruby would find out just what it was they were hiding, and how she could help them both. They were good people, and they didn't need to suffer alone.

"Hey, Rubes! Ready to get going?"

"Coming, Yang!" She smiled at her sister, who was already walking to the auditorium's exit with Blake.

Time. All it would take was time.

* * *

**Next chapter: classes begin!**

**Side note - a fair amount of suspension of disbelief will be needed with regard to Alphonse's body (for obvious reasons), but I'll try and address it a little.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Gonna be up to just short of 60k words soon, which is the typical point where I stop actively working on a story (n=5). Hmm...**

**On a side note, since a few reviews have mentioned about whether this will follow the canon events, in general the timeline will be set in stone (e.g. Vytal Festival, Beacon Dance, tournament etc), although I'm planning on incorporating some other changes as the brothers explore Remnant's mysteries (some of which may contradict established RWBY lore), and brainstorming up a different course of events for Cinder's overall plan.**

* * *

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Ed stared at himself in the mirror, the muscles of his face twitching slightly in indignation. Gone was his usual black jacket and red coat. In their place was now an overly formal _dress shirt _and neatly-buttoned black jacket, complete with an all-too-uncomfortable red tie.

They had argued – oh, how they tried arguing – but Glynda would have none of it. They had been told that they would be treated equally as students of Beacon Academy, and that wearing the designated uniform was part of this arrangement. They had gone to her office, first to argue, and then later to beg, but even then she did not cave in. They had since sulkily left the uniforms untouched for the rest of the day, and were now paying the price when the time came for them to be ready for classes.

"You think you have it bad? Look at me!" Al moaned.

Fair point. The school had seen fit to provide Al with a set of uniform large enough to accommodate for his form, which meant that he was now a suit of armour wearing a shirt, tie, and blazer. They had managed to squeeze out written permission from Glynda and Ozpin stating that he had permission for that, to forestall any questions their peers may have, but that was the limit that they could push them on a compromise.

Well, he thought that Glynda was the one with any real objections, at least. Ozpin simply sat there serenely, sipping at his coffee, while watching the argument unfold without batting an eyelid.

"This is ridiculous," he finally said.

They'd only agreed to _wear_ the uniform, but not anything else beyond that. He grabbed his familiar red cloak and gloves, putting them on over his present clothing. Technically, he would have done nothing wrong. At least the coat was black, and wouldn't be too far off from his usual jacket.

"You look good, Ed," Al commented.

"I look like one of those dogs of the military! Hell, even _Mustang_ looked less ridiculous than this!" He adjusted the tie yet again, feeling as though it was slowly suffocating him. Despite his title as a State Alchemist, he never really had to buy in to military doctrine and uniformity, with all their silly rules and regulations.

As for his brother, Al looked… well… Ed would almost say _cute. _Though some may have thought Al to be intimidating, given the size of his armour and the dull grey of his body, anyone that looked at him now wouldn't be able to see anything other than an oversized teddy bear of an armoured knight.

Yes, the colonel must _never_ hear of what happened here.

"Let's just get this over with," Ed grumbled, securing his silver pocketwatch onto his belt, and then snatched his Scroll and placed it into his pocket. The Stone was still in his possession, at least until they found a good location and secure means of hiding it in their room.

It was eight-thirty in the morning, which gave a comfortable thirty minutes before class started. They'd figured they would show up early for Grimm Studies, and engage in some reading of their own until the lesson actually began.

The grounds were much quieter than he'd thought it would be. As they followed the instructions on their provided maps, all they came across was a handful of students. They looked puzzled at Al's appearance, occasionally staring at them, but didn't otherwise comment. When they arrived at the designated classroom and made their way in, he was surprised to find that they were the first ones there.

Even the professor, one Peter Port that he hadn't yet met, was still not present. It didn't matter to them, though. They picked seats near the middle of the pack, and began looking over their notes.

They had so many questions to ask regarding the Grimm, their list only increasing in size since their run-in with the soulless creatures during Initiation. Try as they might, the Stone seemed to be the only real possibility that could explain their increased aggression that they had displayed, which made them dwell into the field of Grimm behaviour.

Why were the Grimm attracted to negativity? Why did they only target humans and faunus? How did Grimm form, and why did they mature and develop? What made an Alpha Beowolf what it was, rather than an ordinary member of its pack? How did they relate to Aura, given the proposed theories that Aura in and itself could attract the attention of Grimm?

Those, among many others, were the questions they hoped this class would answer. They had notebooks, parchment and writing implements at the ready, and they would take down every nugget of wisdom that this man had to offer.

It was only at precisely nine o'clock that students first began appearing, filing into the classroom at a leisurely pace. The professor himself entered, and moved to stand by his desk as he looked at the students before him.

Peter Port looked to be past his prime, his hair greyed, but he seemed to be well-experienced. Ed didn't miss how he studied each of the students in the classroom, nodding in acknowledgment at Ed's own scrutiny of him. Though he appeared (and Ed _hated_ that his name itself was a pun) portly, Ed thought that there probably was more to the man than he seemed. He wore a long, red coat that hid his physique, and he knew from personal experience with Sig Curtis that despite having a stout appearance he could be a formidable force to deal with indeed.

Still, though, Ed couldn't help but compare his appearance to Major Armstrong. That damned moustache of his and his facial structure looked far too similar.

Ah, great. There he was again superimposing yet another person's face on the major's body.

Team RWBY and team JNPR only arrived past the bell, breathing heavily as they dashed into the room. Ruby offered a muted apology, while Weiss looked absolutely flustered, as their team moved to the row just behind where the two of them sat.

Come to think of it, why were they so late? Weren't they on the same corridor as both those teams? Their rooms weren't _that_ far away from the classroom. He looked at them quizzically as they settled down, but no answer was forthcoming.

Ruby was about to start conversation with them, leaning forward in her seat, but Weiss quickly dragged her back by the shoulder, glaring at her partner and pointing at the front. Professor Port began to speak, and Ed turned back to face the front.

"Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night!" He declared, then paused dramatically. "Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey."

He gave a hearty laugh, one that no one else in the class reciprocated.

Yeah… Ed was beginning to think that his comparison to Major Armstrong wasn't too far off the mark.

The professor was a little forceful with his jokes, and perhaps had just a _slightly_ high opinion of himself, but perhaps it came from an honest understanding of his own capabilities rather than his own arrogance. He continued droning on for the next minute – some kind of introductory lecture to the Grimm, he supposed – before finally diving into _actual_ content, and one borne from personal experience. Ed sat up straighter in his seat, pencil at the ready.

This was it. Information about the Grimm from a first-hand account. He couldn't ask for much more than that.

-o-o-o-

Ruby Rose was bored.

Bored, bored, _bored!_

How could anyone make _Grimm Studies _boring? She loved to hear all the stories from the good old days that dad and uncle Qrow regaled her with, even though they decreased in frequency over the years.

Her favourite was that time when she was just six years old, when Qrow had visited and told her a story from years ago. Their old team ventured off to the cold north of Atlas, and battled a mighty Rhino-Wendigo Grimm, that for some reason had dad snorting madly in recollection while Qrow told her the epic tale of their team's triumph through tenacity, strength of will, and bonds of friendship that could never be shattered.

She refused to believe Yang when she told her years later that it was an obvious lie. The Rhino-Wendigo _had _to exist! Qrow couldn't possibly have made up a story like that just for laughs, even if he _was_ uncle Qrow!

She doodled absently on a scrap of paper, drawing a stick figure of Professor Port battling against a horde of Grimm, as he droned on with that sleep-inducing, smooth voice of his. She snorted, as the figure waved a giant battle-axe around, beating Beowolves and Ursae senseless. She flashed the image to Yang, who gave her a thumbs up.

Grinning, she added more embellishments to her drawing. _Woosh! Bang! _She mouthed the sound effects, her tongue sticking out, as she continued –

Weiss nudged her, and she started, looking up to the front, an excuse on her lips.

"Pay attention," she hissed, before looking back at the Professor, even though she too seemed disinterested.

Oh, Weiss was just being Weiss. Ever since they'd met, her partner had been prickly with her, and that had only intensified after their teams were announced. Nothing she did seemed to help patch up their relationship, while Yang and Blake were starting to get along just fine.

Ruby sighed mentally. Fine, fine; she would _try _to listen and not fall asleep.

"There I was, a single wounded huntsman surrounded by a score of bloodthirsty Beowolves and a single Ursa Major, but I knew there that I could not fall! For if I did, who else could protect the village from destruction? Who else could ensure that the legacy of the old man who smelled of cabbages lived on? Thus, I grabbed my trusty blunderbuss, and readied all twelve of the Dust rounds I had –"

Wait, what had happened? Last she heard, he was still at the village of Greenport, haggling with the cabbage merchant to lower his prices, like his grandpa had told him to! When had Grimm even come into the picture?

She looked around the classroom. Alphonse and Edward were still in the row in front of her. She didn't know why Al still wore his armour, but huntsman were known for doing weird things. Besides, she wore her cape as well, and Ed was wearing his own red cloak. Maybe Al was just more comfortable in it? She wouldn't complain, since where Al looked _slightly_ scary before, now he just looked like a giant fluffball pretending to be intimidating.

Still, wasn't it a little heavy? She imagined what Al would look like under his armour. Perhaps a bit like Ed? Did they even have the same hair colour? How could their physiques even be so different, anyway? Al was practically a giant, while Ed…

…she wouldn't call him tiny if it hurt his feelings, but he was, uh, shorter than most.

Continuing on from that thought, she couldn't help but be drawn to his arm once again. She wanted to know just how the 'accident' had happened, but it seemed to be a touchy topic with the brothers and she didn't want to pry. If she ever learned just what it was, it would be because they trusted her enough to tell her themselves.

Like their first meeting, he had it hidden from sight under his gloves and long sleeves. Why didn't he want people to know about it? Did he hate people asking questions, or was it something else? How was his life with his prosthetic arm? Was it challenging? Did it require much maintenance?

It was functional, at least, since he was very deftly writing down notes –

Wait.

_Waaait._

_WHY WAS HE WRITING NOTES?_

She sat up straighter, staring at him, as Professor Port continued with his self-absorbed reciting of past deeds. She caught words and phrases every here and there, but for the most part her attention was fixed only on the pair of brothers.

"_Nevermore_… _Dust canisters_ … _Aura_… _into_ _captivity_… _so, I disguised myself… much like a cabbage_, _huntsmen need to…"_

She tried peeking at their notes, to see why in all of Remnant they were even bothering to take notes on what Professor Port was telling them, but she couldn't see a thing. She wasn't alone, as her sudden act of lucidity caught Weiss' own attention, and now she seemed to be fighting the conflicting urges of listening to the Professor drone on, berating Ruby for her inattention, and peeking at their notes herself.

Glancing around the room, it seemed that Yang was just as curious as she was. Even Nora stopped poking Ren temporarily as she stared at the two.

"…and so, in the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero," he finished with a tone of finality, flourishing his hands.

Wait, what? He was _done?_

"The moral of the story? A true huntsman must be honourable! A true huntsman must be dependable! A true huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and _wise!_" He straightened up, flashing a broad smile, bouncing on the sole of his feet as he emphasised the words. "So, who among you believes themselves to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Three arms shot up, and Ruby gasped.

"I do, sir!" Weiss declared.

"Oh? The Elric brothers, and Miss Schnee, was it?" He stroked his moustache. "How enthusiastic! How admirable! However, I'm afraid that –"

"Umm, Professor?" Al asked meekly. "I have a few questions, and I think that brother does too."

…questions…?

On_ that _lecture?

"Oh, silly me! I forgot to check if everyone followed my lecture!" Professor Port laughed jovially. "Very well, boys! Fire away, and let's see if this older and more experience huntsman can grant you clarity!"

"Before, you mentioned that you unloaded twelve rounds of Gravity Dust straight into the Ursa Major's belly, and that it exploded from the impact," Ed began saying, his voice fully serious, and Ruby could feel her eyes practically bogging out.

_What?_

Why did he even pay attention to _that_?

"Indeed I did, Mister Elric!"

Ed shifted his papers around slightly. Ruby took the chance to peek.

…_what?_

Why were there _equations_? This was _Grimm Studies!_

"I did some calculations, and I don't quite fully understand," Ed continued. "Based on the average quantity of Dust packed into a standard SDC-manufactured Dust round, I extrapolated the forces that should be acting on the Grimm. Earlier in your recount, you mentioned that the Ursa Minor that you fought was put down by a single round of Fire Dust, and I estimated the explosive force based on the amount of energy being released. From these calculations, the Major seems to be made of a substance with a tensile strength more than ten-fold greater than the Minor. Why is that?"

…what.

Eyes that had been filled with boredom and sleep were now sharply focussed onto Ed, then on the Professor after his student had finished speaking, waiting to see just how he would respond.

He chuckled. "I see you learn fast, Mister Elric." Then, he addressed the class as a whole. "Yes, as your colleague has pointed out, Grimm biology differs markedly between different species. Though they appear _visually_ similar, the bodies of a Nevermore and of a Beowolf couldn't be more different. I believe you may have caught on to that as well?"

Alphonse and Edward nodded.

…wait…

His lecture had a _purpose?!_ No, not just that; Professor Port actually had an _answer _to Edward's question?

"Alphonse Elric, did you have a question as well?"

"Oh… it was mostly in the same vein as brother's…"

…these two were _not_ normal.

"Unfortunately, this topic is complex, and has stumped many a huntsman – even me in my youth!" Again, Port laughed. "In future lessons, I will continue speaking of my personal forays into the path of a huntsman. Beringel or Griffon; Creep or Goliath, we shall understand our foes through the lens of experience. Will that be sufficient to sate your curiosity for now, boys?"

Both brothers nodded, and lowered their hands, returning to scribbling down notes once more. Professor Port continued as though this was just a common, everyday experience in his classroom.

"Very well, students! Miss Schnee, do you still believe yourself to be the embodiment of those traits?"

"I- I do, sir!"

"Come forward!" he declared grandly, as Weiss stood up regally from her seat. Slowly, calmly, she made her way to the front of the class.

"I must warn you, your opponent will be a vicious one indeed." Professor Port slashed _through_ the steel bars of the cage that had been placed in the corner of the room, and Ruby gasped as a Grimm stepped forth, eyeing its surroundings angrily. "_En garde_!"

-o-o-o-

For all that Peter Port was a _terrible_ storyteller, the recount of his glorious tales from days past provided excellent material for Ed and Al to study. Though his stories were greatly embellished, Ed had gradually learned to tell where he was mostly tooting his own horn, and where he was factually stating in exacting detail just what had happened in his past dealings with Grimm. From there, as strange as it sounded, new questions arose.

_Why_ should different Grimm have different physical properties? Flesh was flesh, and steel was steel – why would the inky black of a Grimm be different between a Nevermore and a Beowolf? They didn't even have Aura to account for potential differences, and so none of it made any sense.

Were Grimm composed of multiple different elements, whatever the black substance may be? Much like how carbon content disrupting a lattice of iron could alter the strength of steel, was there something else that changed the way Grimm behaved? If it did, was it limited to physical properties, or could it shape the nature of Grimm themselves to give rise to species as different as Beowolves that exhibited pack-like behaviour and Death Stalkers that dwelled in caves alone? And how did _age_ factor into any of this?

Questions, questions, and more questions. He hoped that Professor Port wasn't just deflecting. Regardless, future lessons could shed some light on the issue, if they continued paying attention and digging into the details past the many layers of added accessory information.

Now, he watched as Weiss fell into a stance, her sabre extended outside, waiting for the Boarbatusk's charge. It irked him slightly that Port would capture live Grimm for a class – both due to the potential dangers, and for his still conflicted ideas as to whether that was unnecessarily cruel to the Grimm – but he understood where the Professor was coming from. Practical experience couldn't be learned through theory alone, as had been made plainly aware during Initiation.

"Go, Weiss!" he heard Ruby cheering from behind him.

"Yeah, kick his ass!" Yang shouted. "Hey, Blake, you've gotta cheer too!"

"Woo. Go, team RWBY." The last remaining member of team RWBY sounded utterly disinterested.

Distracted, Weiss was clipped by the Borbatusk's attack, her weapon falling from her hands. He was about to intervene, since he and Al were positioned at the front, but noticed Port subtly gesturing for them to stop. His eyes darted for a split second to the weapon still held in his arms, and he knew that Port was keeping a close eye on the situation.

Gradually, he let the transmutation circles that he had been ready to call up fade away from his mind, and studied the battle intently. The Borbatusk bore heavy armour around its entire body, much like the carapace of a Death Stalker like that he had glimpsed the day before. How did these characteristics arise? Hastily, he wrote down a note to look out for similar notions during Port's next lesson.

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armour there!" he heard Ruby suggest loudly.

When he finally glanced back up, Weiss held her weapon in her hands once more, but had been backed into a corner. Desperately, she brought her hands in front of her, and –

His jaw dropped open.

Was that a _transmutation circle?_

By his side, Al seemed to be just as shell-shocked, leaning forward in his chair and crushing the pencil in his grip. They watched, as the Boarbatusk bounced off a barrier of force marked by the circle, landing with a loud thump on its back.

Weiss didn't waste any time. Her circle turned from a brilliant blue to completely pitch black, and she put a foot against her construct. An instant later, she was launched with great force toward the downed Grimm, piercing its armourless underside and killing it in a single thrust.

No… after a few seconds of closer inspection, it wasn't _quite _accurate to call it an alchemical circle. There weren't any alchemical symbols he could recognise, and certainly none that translated into the Three Primes, the Four Basic Elements, any of the planetary metals or even mundane elemental symbols of power. Instead, he recognised something akin to the snowflake-like emblem that was stitched onto her blouse at the periphery of the circle, but with strange triangular arrows stemming outward from the centre.

Still, he hurriedly sketched down what he could remember of the sigils and symbols he had seen and their arrangement in the circle.

It had preserved symmetry, something absolutely fundamental to the vast majority of alchemical circles, along with the use of repeated motifs and a wide variety of simple geometrical shapes. There was a real possibility that it _could _be a real transmutation circle, written using a different script from Amestrian symbols. If so, this could be a huge breakthrough in their research. Could Weiss somehow transmute something – Aura, perhaps – into _force_, and thus result in attraction or repulsion of an object?

"Hey, Al," he muttered, once he finally had a good sketch penned down from memory alone. He eyed his brother's work, and saw an identical circle drawn on his paper.

"I know."

Somehow, one way or another, they _needed _to know just what this was –

"Why are you two sketching Weiss' Semblance?"

"GAH!"

He started, leaning backward sharply, as Ruby's head hung between both brothers. She was lying down flat on her belly from the row behind, peering at each of them quizzically.

What – why –

Wait, when had Port even dismissed them? Why was almost everyone already out of class?

"You two draw really well, huh?" Ruby continued saying, looking at the paper from different orientations. "It's a perfect circle, even! How'd you do that?"

"Give that back!" He snatched the paper from her arms, then felt guilty as Ruby looked mildly hurt by that. "I mean – uh – why are you still here, anyway?"

"I saw you two scribbling something after Port ended the class, and just wanted to see what's up," she said, bringing her legs over the table to sit herself down in between both brothers. "Why're you drawing her Semblance, anyway?"

So it was her Semblance, then. Was it separate from alchemy? Or was there something else hidden here? Alchemy _couldn't _be dead to this world, even if alchemical _knowledge _didn't exist here.

It was a conjecture they had more recently come up with based on the twin facts that Truth bore an interest in this world, and that they knew that the Gate of Truth in itself meant that the potential for alchemy was present in an individual. For Truth to have knowledge of Remnant, it followed that alchemy simply had to be part of this world. It was something they would need to think about.

He glanced at Al, a questioning look in his eye, who nodded ever so slightly.

Yup. They couldn't tell Ruby the truth.

"We thought it looked pretty, is all," Al lied.

"Hmm… I guess it does, huh?" She looked at it for a second longer, then leaned back in her seat. "_Maaan, _and here I thought that you uncovered one of Professor Port's secrets again or something."

…what? No, it was best not to ask.

It was just them in class, now. Speaking of which –

"Where's the rest of your team, anyway?"

"I told Blake and Yang to go on ahead, since we've got a short break before the next class, and then I came back to class to check on you two. Weiss –" she hesitated, then sighed, resting her head on the table, muttering something unintelligible.

Again, he exchanged looks with Al, both of them equally confused as to what she'd just said.

"What was that, Ruby?"

"I think Weiss is mad at me," she said more clearly, her voice shaking slightly. She turned her head marginally, and Ed was surprised to note that her eyes were just ever-so-slightly damp.

Damn it. Homunculi and Grimm he could deal with. Teenage women putting on a brave face but starting to become emotional was something he never learned to manage, case in point being Winry. The fact that he couldn't help but compare Ruby to Winry now that he knew a little more about the girl from yesterday's events didn't help matters.

"Why would you say that, Ruby?" Al asked gently, resting a palm on her back. "I'm sure it isn't true. You're really nice and sweet!"

"It's just…" She sighed. "I tried being helpful in class, back when she fought that Borbatusk, you know? But Weiss just stormed off right after, and I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she said – she said –"

"What did she say?"

"She said I wasn't a good leader, and that I was a nuisance," she forced out. "She said she didn't want to be part of a team led by me, that she deserves better, and that Ozpin made a mistake."

Oh, no. That was a lot to unload on them. What would only make it worse was if –

"Hey Ed, Al?" she asked, her voice fragile and doubtful. "Do you think she's right? Do you think Ozpin made a mistake?"

…damn it. He hoped Al could handle this.

Al looked back at him helplessly, just as unsure as he was of what to do in this situation.

Welp. Guess it was time to wing it.

"You _do_, don't you?" Ruby accused weakly as the silence stretched in for too long, her eyes looking vulnerable. "That's why you were drawing her Semblance… you think Weiss makes a much better huntress than me, and that –"

"Look, Ruby," he interrupted. "Al and I really don't know where to weigh in on this. We don't know either of you well enough to judge for ourselves, but from what I _do _know about you, I think that you chose to become a huntress for a reason."

"Huh?"

_To reject the null hypothesis, first examine the outcomes as though it were true._

"Suppose that she's right, and that Ozpin _did _make a mistake," he continued on, ignoring her. "What then?"

"Then I'll ask Ozpin to switch me out! If Weiss really doesn't want me as her partner, or as a leader of team RWBY, then I'll – I'll –"

"Really? Would you do that?" He stared her in the eyes. "Does becoming a huntress mean _that_ little to you?"

"What – of course not!" Ruby shot back heatedly, glaring at him. "Being a huntress means everything to me!"

"Then prove her wrong," he said calmly. "Why do you think she doesn't want to accept you?"

"She thinks I'm childish, and that I'm not taking any of this seriously," she replied after a brief moment of reflection.

"Then prove to her that that isn't true. Let your actions speak for themselves. If even after all that, she still refuses to acknowledge you as a huntress and leader, then she's the one who needs a reality check."

"But how do you do that?"

"I can't tell you. That, you have to figure out on your own; walk on your own two feet." _You've still got them_, he added mentally.

Briefly, he had a sense of déjà vu. Hadn't he said things of much the same vein back in Liore?

Wait, hadn't that girl been called _Rose_, too? How much of a coincidence could this be?

She remained silent for a few moments, mulling over his words.

"But how do you _know_?" she asked uncertainly. "Maybe she's right, and –"

"Haven't you been paying attention to anything I've said? Even if she's right _now, _then do whatever it takes to _make_ her wrong."

He stared at her in the eye. Her doubt was wavering. Like Winry all that time back, all she needed was one more push. What would help here?

"Look, Ruby. Al and I… we once knew a guy, who really hated us. Like really, _really _hated us." Left unsaid was the fact that Scar wanted to kill him for the sole reason of being a State Alchemist. "I won't say that we became friends, but after some time, we at least tolerated each other. It took a long while, but we understood a little about him and where he came from, even if we didn't really agree with him, and that was enough for us to work together. In comparison, I'd say the issues between you and Weiss aren't quite as bad."

"How did you work things out?"

"I won't lie. Circumstances kind of forced us to work together," he said. "But then… after a while, I think he came to realise just who we were, and that some preconceptions he had about us weren't entirely true. He started to question his own beliefs, and after some time, he became someone that we may have even become friends with if we continued working together."

The Scar at the end that had fought with them against the homunculi for the betterment of the Ishvalan people was completely different from the Scar consumed by vengeance. All it had taken was time and circumstance. Even if he would never forgive Scar for killing Nina and Shou, he wouldn't deny that Scar was someone he had grudgingly come to trust.

"Time, huh?" she repeated, musing.

"Of course, there's always the more likely possibility that this isn't a mistake, and that Weiss is the one that needs to learn to accept you," he said.

"No… I think you're right, before," Ruby said, sitting back up in her chair. "I need to become a leader that Weiss will accept. Even if Ozpin made a mistake, I… it doesn't mean that it has to be one forever. I'll show Weiss that I _can _be the leader she deserves."

Now, she looked at Ed with determination. "Thanks, Ed. That really helped."

…had it? He'd pretty much just pulled all that out of nowhere.

She walked over to the door, having already packed her bags some time back, then paused.

"Hey Ed, Al?"

"Hmm?"

"Would you want to join us for lunch before combat class, later? We were going to eat with team JNPR, so I thought…" She shifted her weight slightly, her words trailing off.

Yeah… that really wasn't possible. It would give Al away immediately.

"We'll be fine, Ruby. Thanks though."

"Oh… okay," she said disappointedly. "Maybe another time, then?"

He couldn't maintain eye contact. "Yeah, maybe..."

"Well… see you two in combat class, then."

She scurried out of the room quickly. With just the two of them left, they fell into silence.

"That was really nice of you, Ed."

"Oh, shut up," he groaned. "She reminded me so much of Winry, that I just couldn't _do_ nothing, you know?"

"Winry, huh?" Al teased. "I always knew that you lo –"

"Don't you even finish that word." He placed his hand on Al's mouth – not that it would do much, given that his voice came from the inside of his armour.

Winry… he really didn't know what he felt about her, but that point was currently moot while they were in Remnant. There was no point to going down that line of thought.

"You really should have gone for lunch with them," Al said. "I would be fine on my own."

"You know that they would ask me about you, anyway. This way, we at least avoid them questioning about you."

"But what about you?"

"I'll grab a sandwich, or something. Besides, I did have a lot for breakfast. I'm eating for two, after all."

"You know that if you don't drink your milk, you'll never be –"

"Al, I love you and all, but I swear if you call me short, I won't hold back one bit, even to my own brother. I've grown a ton since Briggs."

They stared at each other for a moment, before snorting at the absurdity of it all. Yeah. They really needed to get out of this classroom. Quickly, they began packing up their notes, and headed out the door.

"Next class is at one, right?"

Al nodded. "Combat Class with Professor Goodwitch. We've still got slightly less than two hours."

"I'll grab some sandwiches, and we meet back in the room to discuss our notes?" He gestured to the circle that had come from Weiss' Semblance. "We've got plenty to unpack here."

"Alright. See you back there, Ed."

They parted ways, and Ed began walking toward the cafeteria. He had plenty of things to think about, now that his first lesson had passed.

The nature of Grimm. Possible leads on alchemy being disguised as a Semblance, or symbols that could be usurped for alchemical use. Thinking of a longer-term solution to explain not just Al's constant wearing of armour, but also his absence from eating meals or bathing.

They were all important in their own right, and that was before adding on the list of things that they had already set out to do. How would they ever find the time to address them all?

-o-o-o-

By the time Ed and Al finally forced themselves to put a temporary halt to their planning of just what to do with their limited time, they had just barely enough time to make it to Glynda's class moments before the bell rang.

Ed sighed with relief. He wouldn't want to chance being late for her first class, if she was anything like Teacher had been. Being thrown about like a rag doll for well over an hour under the pretext of training wasn't something he missed about those days.

"Ed! Al! Over here!"

Quickly, they filed into the row of seats where Ruby had beckoned them, all while steadfastly ignoring the disapproving look that the Professor sent them. Team RWBY sat closest to them, while team JNPR were just seated in the row just to the front. Given that Weiss was still separated from her team leader by Blake and Yang, he guessed that she was still sore about whatever issues she had with Ruby.

He would have liked to help her there, but anything he did would probably just be more fuel to the fire. He never did understand women, after all.

"Hey, guys," Ruby said, as they finally took their seats. Yang offered a cheerful wave, while Blake merely nodded. "Combat class! Isn't this exciting?"

She was practically bouncing with energy, completely unlike her earlier state of mind back in Port's classroom. Like themselves, she and most of the other students had already changed out of their uniforms into the attire he had seen them wearing back during Initiation, her transformable 'mechashift' scythe compacted and cradled preciously in her arms.

"Brother and I aren't really too big on fighting, actually," Al said, slightly nervous. "We really don't want to hurt people."

"Especially Al." Ed thumped his brother on the shoulder. "He's a real gentle giant."

"Brother!"

"I mean… I guess, but… we have Aura to protect us, right?" Ruby said timidly. "I'm sure Miss Goodwitch will stop the fight before anyone gets hurt."

Ah, yes. Aura.

Back in Amestris, something like that never existed, and they always had to pull their punches. It was why unlike most alchemists that launched spiked projectiles, ignited bursts of flame, froze and boiled blood, or even literally _exploded _flesh as Kimblee had done, they resorted mainly to simple grapples and close combat as their staples, just as Teacher had taught them. Lethal force was something they had never desired.

Adjusting to the presence of Aura was going to take some getting used to. Their entire fighting style had to change, which was why he and Al had already set up designated periods of time solely devoted to theorising and training for combat purposes.

Al had opted to delve deeper into alkahestry, and emulate what he had seen Mei do – it had taken much restraint not to tease his brother – in order to provide more versatile options for ranged combat through remote transmutations. Unlike his brother, Ed still couldn't grasp the finer details of alkahestry during his initial attempts despite having literally been shown the knowledge by Truth, and had instead decided to concentrate on expanding his present alchemical repertoire for now. Already, Mustang's Flame Alchemy seemed to be a good starting point, given how devastating it had been against the Grimm the day before.

He took out a few loose sheets of paper, placing them on the table, while Al did likewise moments later. Ruby stared at them uncomprehendingly.

"You're taking _notes_ in _combat class_?" she asked in disbelief.

"Why not?"

"It's combat class!"

"Sheesh, Ruby, leave those bookworms alone," Yang cut in, grinning. "Nice going in Port's class, by the way. You two earned me a hundred lien."

"We what?"

"Had a little bet with kitty-cat here, after Ruby made everyone focus on you two rather than Port in class," she said, pointing a thumb toward Blake, who groaned. "She thought you two were doodling like dearest Rubes, while I bet on you actually doing something productive. Mama Yang's a rich girl now."

He stared at Ruby, hard, as she squirmed about uncomfortably, pulling her hood over her head. "It's not my fault! _How_ could you even pay attention to Professor Port, anyway?"

"Huh?" Al asked.

"He's so _boring!"_

"We thought the content of his lecture was quite useful, though –"

Al paused, as abruptly, Yang stopped affectionately rubbing Ruby's head down toward the table. Blake simply stared at them. Even Weiss, who had been giving the three of them the silent treatment, had twitched slightly.

"Please tell me you did not just say that," Yang intoned calmly, although there was a tinge of some other incomprehensible emotion mixed in.

"It was, though," Ed spoke on behalf of his brother, who looked to be tongue-tied in the wake of the intense scrutiny they were now under. "Sure, he did go off on a rant at times, but the bits where he talked about how he defeated the Beringel and outwitted the ancient Alpha Beowolf were quite useful."

"Since when did a Beringel even come into the picture?"

"It was after he left the den of Ursae, following the trail of cabbages –"

"Ahem."

The entire auditorium immediately lapsed into silence, as Glynda finally stepped forward on the stage, eyeing them all critically. Her gaze lingered for several moments on several individuals as she scanned the crowd – noting the number of vacant seats and the students in attendance, probably. Finally, satisfied, she nodded.

"Welcome to your first combat class in your time in Beacon Academy," she spoke crisply. "First, let it be known that this is _not _combat school. In Beacon, we will not coddle you. As future huntsmen and huntresses, you are expected to fight for the protection of Remnant. Complacency and failure to improve will not be tolerated in this class. If you do not take this class seriously, your continued enrolment into this academy will be called into question. You have been warned."

For some reason, her gaze lingered upon their particular row of students. Ruby gave a sharp 'eep', pulled down her hood, and sat up ramrod straight.

"The purpose of this class is not just to learn how to make use of Aura and Dust in combat, but how to fight _smart_. Lessons will be delivered primarily by practical combat between students in groups of different sizes, with additional theory lessons and field trips to Grimm-infested areas interspersed throughout the term. I stress again – I will not tolerate any laziness in this class."

Her _look_ sent shivers down his spine, and he knew he wasn't alone. Where the students had been mostly relaxed before, laughing and joking among themselves, their postures were now stiff and paying utmost attention to Glynda, lest she go forward with her threats. In that regard, she was not much different from Teacher.

"You will be expected to fight, and fight well. Your Aura will be monitored during battles, and displayed up on the screens. Watch your Aura throughout a fight, and decide for yourselves on the best strategy to employ. When it falls into the red, the battle will immediately be ended, with no exceptions. Do _not_ test me on this single rule. Is that clear?"

Hmm. Guess the battles should be mostly safe after all, despite his reservations. So long as Aura persisted, any injuries that were sustained in a fight could be absorbed or otherwise healed easily. It would take some time to get used to.

She glared at them all, after the silence had continued on.

"I said, _is that clear_?"

"Yes, Professor!" A chorus of nervous voices rang out.

"Very well. In that case, then, we shall begin our first round of one-on-one bouts." She thumbed her Scroll without pre-amble, as two faces that Ed didn't recognise appeared on the screen before them. "Viridian Violet and Nocturne November, please proceed onto the stage."

Ed got his notes ready. He probably couldn't quite copy the exact techniques and fighting styles that most of these huntsmen used, but he could try and emulate them via other means with alchemy, or find ways to make use of Dust that fit well with his present style. As the fight began, he watched their movements with extreme focus, tuning out everything else happening around him.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Ruby. Your twin is going at it again."

"Ed isn't my twin!" Her sister hurriedly denied. "His cloak isn't even the same as my cape! There's nothing alike between us!"

Yang chuckled. Ah, classic Ruby. For all that her sister was trying to get the two mysterious brothers to become closer to their two teams, she was so shy and embarrassed about the plan she had cooked up.

Just last night, she had called for a team meeting after they had settled into their rooms, and Yang had wondered just what her sister had in mind. Beyond matters pertaining to their team, she had suggested for bonding activities with their so-called sister team, team JNPR, since they had pretty much gone through all of Initiation together. The team had agreed to that quickly enough – even Weiss, prickly though she may be with Ruby – and Ruby had then followed that up with another similar suggestion.

She wanted for team Elric to feel included with both their teams, claiming that those two would be so lonely in Beacon on their own. After practically growing up attached to the hip with her, Yang knew that there was something else Ruby wasn't telling them, and it had taken all the willpower she had not to tease Ruby.

Ruby, her dearest sister, had a crush!

What else could explain it? She hadn't ever shown such interest in boys before, claiming that Crescent Rose was all the companionship she needed in her life. A break in this routine couldn't be entirely innocent, as she'd phrased her suggestion to be. She, Ruby Rose, was going out of her way to become friends with a boy, and Yang would not turn down this opportunity to collect blackmail – ahem, _valuable information_ on her sister.

Which brother, though, had Ruby set her sights on? Neither of them were particularly her type, but she could see the appeal of both. Was it the midget, who was of a close height to Ruby and had _uncannily_ similar choice of clothing? Or was it the mysterious younger brother, who easily dwarfed everyone else in their class and never once showed who he was beneath his armour? Ruby did always like the tales of knights and heroes in her books, and Alphonse did fit the part...

If Ruby had made her suggestion with any other guy, Yang would have immediately threatened the one who had caught her eye and made sure that they knew not to mess around with her sister, but with the Elric brothers, well...

...both of them seemed utterly clueless of Ruby's intentions, and given that they had shown _actual interest_ into Port's class, she doubted they were capable of thinking anything untoward about her sister. Hell, even now, they were actually writing down notes and sketches as they observed their fellow classmates duking it out. Most people grew out of that phase by their second year of combat school.

Hmm... how could she tease her sister? What pun would work best?

Ah, yes. She could picture it already

'_Hey, sis,'_ she would say. '_Do you like words?'_

'_Huh? Words?'_

'_Y'know, words?' _She would lean in close, watching as Ruby squirmed. '_A collection of alphabets? Someone told me that you liked a certain Ed-_word.'

'_Yaaaang!' _

"Nocturne November's Aura is now in the red. The match is over," Glynda suddenly spoke.

Yang turned her gaze away from Ruby and the brothers to her right, and the puns she had been preparing to unleash. Was it over that quickly? Back on the stage, both students were now panting heavily, as Viridian offered a hand to her downed opponent.

"Excellent work, both of you, but there is plenty of room for improvement. Miss Violet, you relied too much on using your Aura to shield you, draining precious amounts of it where you could have easily dodged. Had it not been for your colleague's carelessness in the last ten seconds of your fight, you could just as easily have been defeated."

She turned to address the other student next. "Mister November, you took the advantage early, but were too hesitant in pressing it. Had you maintained the pressure early on, this match would have been yours to take. I would suggest reflecting on the recording of your match, and coming up with a different strategy for your next battle."

Hmm. It seemed like Goodwitch did know what to look out for. Yang grinned, her entire body itching for a good fight. She hoped that she would be picked next –

"Weiss Schnee. Cardin Winchester. Please proceed onto the stage."

Aww, how disappointing. Still, at least her team would have a chance to show off what they could do. She looked over at her left, where her teammate had already stood up.

"Beat him up, Weiss-cream!"

The hand that had been holding Myrtenaster twitched. Heh. So long as Weiss continued reacting to her taunts, Yang would keep that little nickname going on.

"BREAK HIS LEGS!" Nora screamed enthusiastically from the row in front of them, while Ren held her down.

"Fight well, Weiss," Ruby offered timidly from the side, far quieter than her friend on team JNPR.

Weiss paused fractionally, glancing over at them. Briefly, she gave the slightest of nods, before continuing on.

Well, well. It seemed that her teammate wasn't such a bitch after all. Yang would give her and Ruby another few days to sort things out. If Weiss still refused to accept her sister, then Yang would help, ah... expedite the process. It wasn't too unfamiliar to her, since she'd done the same thing to her sister's bullies back in Signal.

She shook her head. No sense fretting over that now, especially since Ruby had steadfastly and desperately told Yang that she would work things out with Weiss after she had stormed out of Port's class. She looked over back at the brothers and Ruby –

Yang blinked. She rubbed at her eyes, thinking that she was seeing things. Then, she blinked again.

The brothers looked excited, and Edward had reshuffled his papers to place fresh ones closest to him, a pen already in his hands. Their eyes were entirely focused on Weiss as she stood opposite the Winchester kid. A rough sketch of Weiss' semblance was on one corner of the page. Why –

Oh.

Oh,_ hoho_.

She could feel a _scandal_ coming along.

Ah, poor Ruby. To be caught up in the midst of a love triangle, and one where her partner was involved. Possibly a rectangle, if vomit-boy continued pestering Weiss.

Well, Yang wouldn't intervene in this mess. She and Blake could watch the entertainment from afar. Perhaps she could stoke the fire slightly by bringing vomit-boy into this mess.

"Begin!"

She forced herself to pay attention to the fight. Knowing how her teammate fought was going to be important later on. She watched as Weiss' eyes narrowed, her weapon at the ready, waiting for her opponent to strike.

Cardin roared, bringing his heavy mace forward in a wide swing as he charged. He had strength, Yang would give him that, but his speed and footwork were subpar. More than likely, he bashed his way through fights using a combination of his heavy armour and forceful strikes of his chosen weapon.

Weiss simply launched herself away from the arc of his mace with one of her glyphs, darting around rapidly toward the side. A second glyph, and she struck him cleanly in the side of his armour, before disengaging once more. Cardin grunted, stepping into a more defensive position, and the fight was reset.

Yang eyed the Aura boards. For all that Weiss was quick, her attack hadn't done too much damage to her opponent, since much of the impact was absorbed by his thick armour. Only ten percent of his Aura had fallen, despite that strike probably being easily capable of tearing straight through an Ursa.

"Hey, Pyrrha, any thoughts on the fight?" she asked, leaning forward. She wouldn't pass up the chance to find out any insights the Mistral tournament winner had of Weiss' style.

"Huh?" She glanced back, temporarily looking away from the fight. "Oh... well, Weiss is probably going to win, so long as she avoids Cardin's attacks. The only Aura she's used is from fuelling her Semblance, while Cardin's is being chipped by her attacks."

"He's not that good, is he?"

"Well... I wouldnt say that, but..."

"You're _the_ Pyrrha Nikos, you can say whatever you think, you know," Yang teased, but frowned slightly as Pyrrha stiffened at that.

Huh. Guess she didn't like to be reminded of that. Good to know.

"He's probably not quite at her level, yes," she said diplomatically, slightly embarrassed. "It will take some time before he gets there."

"And you, vomit-boy? What do you think of your '_Snow Angel'_?"

Jaune started, turning around, his dazed eyes looking confused momentarily before shifting into focus. He had a guilty expression on his face. "Weiss? Uhh –"

"Were you _ogling_ her?"

"I was not!" he immediately denied. "I was – uh, studying the way she fought! Yes, that was it!"

He immediately turned back to face the fight, but his ears were now a bright red. Yang felt sorry for him. From what she knew of either of them, Weiss _probably_ wouldn't reciprocate his little bit of puppy love.

By now, Weiss had somehow combined her Semblance with Ice Dust, freezing Cardin's feet in place, striking him while he was helpless to act. Each time he tried breaking free, she would disengage, repeat that same feat, and continue attacking. Cardin was becoming frustrated, and within a few more moments, the fight would be over.

"She can combine her Semblance with Dust?" Edward suddenly burst out, turning to face his brother, who was already mirroring his actions by the time Yang glanced over.

"I know! But how – but then that means – but –" the armoured boy stuttered, his words caught in an excited mess.

"Huh?" Ruby asked them, finally tearing her gaze away from her partner, a soft smile on her lips. "Why's that unusual?"

"O - oh, err, nothing," Edward denied. "We were just surprised, is all."

"You're sketching her Semblance again?" Ruby peeked at their work, and Yang raised an eyebrow. What did she mean by _again_? "Oh, wow! This is really neat! Hey, Yang, check this out!"

She glanced over, and found herself impressed. Their sketch was _extremely_ accurate, entirely in scale. Hell, she didn't think she could have picked out all the details that the brothers had not only included, but also _annotated_ in a messy script.

That drew the attention of team JNPR as well, and they turned toward the commotion.

"Why're you two interested in her Semblance, anyway?" Yang commented, as Nora excitedly poked Ren, asking if he could draw the same thing with _her _Semblance. Did Nora even have a Semblance with visual effects?

"We just wanted to know how it works, is all." Edward tried keeping a straight face, but Yang sensed that he was hiding something.

It took all she had to hide her grin. _The plot thickens._

"Well, why not ask the expert?" She gestured to her fellow classmate, who looked startled.

"Who?" Alphonse asked. "Pyrrha? You're an expert on Semblances?"

Yang blinked. Even Blake stirred. Pyrrha appeared stunned.

"Wait, hold up." Yang held a palm up, cutting into the conversation. "You're telling me neither of you know who Pyrrha is?"

"I mean, we met at Initiation yesterday," Edward said. "Pyrrha... Pyrrha Nikos, or something like that, right?"

"Something like that?" Yang snorted. "You know that she won the Mistral Regional Tournament four years in a row, right?"

Evidently, they hadn't, if the blank look on Edward's face was any indication. It took a moment, before he grinned guiltily, placing what she knew to be his prosthetic hand on the back of his head. Alphonse mirrored the same gesture, and how he could ever do that wearing the thickest suit of armour she had ever seen, she had no clue.

"Oh, right! _That_ Pyrrha Nikos in that, uh, Mistral Regional Tournament! Silly us, how could we forget?"

"_Waaait_ a minute," Nora eyed them suspiciously. "Ed! Al! Quiz time! When is the tournament held?"

"...summer?"

Yang winced. Yup, it was official. They had no clue who Pyrrha was.

Despite that, though, she didn't seem to take offense, looking strangely at the two brothers for several seconds, before smiling brightly, laughing softly. "You really have no idea who I am, do you?"

Edward's face fell. "No, sorry," he sighed. "Al and I grew up far away from Mistral, you see."

And _that_ was a blatant lie, because the tournament was broadcast in all the kingdoms. One tournament for each season, in each of the four kingdoms, except for when the Vytal Festival came to that kingdom. That was the way things had been run for as long as she could remember. No matter which kingdom they hailed from, they _had_ to know of the existence of the tournament, even if they didn't watch it.

Pyrrha didn't comment on that fact. "That's alright. It's refreshing, even," she said. "What were you wondering about her Semblance?"

"How does it work? Why can she make use of Dust to alter its effects?"

"I can't say for sure, but from what I've seen of other Semblances, she probably makes use of the Aura put into activation of her Semblance to activate the Dust of her choice," Pyrrha said easily. "Semblances are just a personal manifestation of one's Aura, after all. While not all Semblances can interest with Dust in that way, it seems that Weiss' is able to."

"Hmm…" Ed mused, diligently jotting down what she'd said. Yang snorted. For someone who seemed hot-headed back when they'd first met, he and his brother were turning out to be one of the nerdiest bunch she'd ever met.

"Cardin Winchester's Aura has now entered the red. Weiss Schnee is the victor of the match."

That put an end to their discussion. The match had been so horribly one-sided, since Cardin couldn't get a single hit in against his more agile opponent. The only Aura she had lost had been what was needed to fuel her Semblance.

"Excellent work, Miss Schnee. You capitalised upon your advantage in mobility, and chose to undertake swift, precise strikes without overcommitting. For improvement, I would suggest putting in more work on overcoming an opponent with stronger defense.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Yay! You did it, Weiss!"

For all that Weiss was pointedly averting her gaze from her partner, she was barely able to hide her proud smile. Heh. Rubes would break through to her soon enough.

"As for you, Mister Winchester, I would suggest working on your mobility. While you performed admirably against the Grimm during Initiation, other Grimm will not be as sluggish as the Beowolves and Creeps you faced. As things stand, you will find yourself struggling against a Nevermore or Boarbatusk, and Brothers forbid you ever face a Griffon or Beringel."

He nodded darkly, his face clouded. Clearly, bigshot over there had been one of the top dogs back in his combat school, and was only now realising that he wasn't quite as good as he thought.

"Alright, then. Students, please return to your seats." Weiss nodded, ever the prim and proper heiress, and strutted off from the stage.

Goodwitch glanced over to the clock. With how long the fighting had gone so far, it was already halfway through her hour-long lesson.

"It seems we have time for just one more battle." Again, she pressed the buttons on her Scroll.

_Please be me, please be me, please be me…_

When her randomiser finally made its choice, both their teams had to pause momentarily for the faces staring back at them from the screen to register. It seemed it wasn't to be her fate, but Yang looked forward to the match regardless.

"Ruby Rose. Edward Elric. Please proceed to the stage for the next match."

"You're up, sis!" She urged Ruby up, even as she gasped loudly, turning between the screen and Edward.

"B- but –"

Ah, how cute. Was Edward the one she had a crush on? Yang wouldn't have thought him to be her type, but what did she know?

"Let's just get this over with," Ed said, sighing. "Al, watch over these for me, would you?"

"Of course."

With that, both of them started heading toward the stage. Along the way, as Weiss passed Ruby during her return to her seat, she offered just the barest of nods.

Yang grinned. Seemed like things would work themselves out after all.

Yang took the opportunity to consider how the fight would turn out. Come to think of it, she hadn't been able to see all that much of Edward's fighting style, besides his use of his Semblance. In most other aspects, he seemed to be quite average back during Initiation.

Hmm… Ruby could probably hold her own, if she just utilised her speed to her advantage. Then again, if Edward managed to trap or block her movements as he had with the Grimm, he would just have a decent shot of gaining victory. Compared to the earlier matches, this one seemed like it would be a little more exciting.

"That's not fair!" Nora whined.

"What isn't, Nora?" Jaune asked, confused. "I know Ruby and Edward are friends and all, but you know we'll all have to fight each other at some point, eventually."

"Exactly! Who am I supposed to cheer on for breaking of kneecaps? Tell me, Ren!"

She watched, amused, as Nora continued pestering her partner. For all that she claimed that they weren't '_together _together', it was hardly supported by her behaviour.

"Students, are you ready?"

"Nora, they're about to begin," Ren said, prying a hand away from his face. "We should watch."

"Ugh! Fine! Maybe they'll break each other's knees!"

Goodwitch put a stop to that nonsense soon enough. "Students, are you ready?"

Ruby and Edward appeared to exchange some words, and then with a final nod from Goodwitch, the fight began.

-o-o-o-

Having to fight so soon after having identified his flaws wasn't part of the plan, but he doubted that Glynda would care much whether or not he protested. Besides, he hadn't sparred with anyone for a long while, and he had been looking forward to facing someone outside of a life-or-death battle against soulless, bloodthirsty Grimm.

"No hard feelings either way, right Ed?" Ruby asked from opposite him. Though she looked excited aplenty, she seemed to be just as equally nervous.

"Of course," he replied easily, loosening his limbs.

Seeing as Ruby already had her scythe readied, he may as well prepare his own weapon. He brought his hands together, and a burst of bright sparks, his wrist blade made of a personally chosen mix of iron, chrome and carbon extended from his automail right arm.

"Are the both of you ready?"

Ruby nodded, gripping her scythe a little tighter. Ed did so a moment later.

"Begin!"

He knew that Ruby was fast. He'd already seen her Semblance first-hand back on the tower during Initiation.

It was why he was ready when she immediately charged him, given that her strike had been telegraphed from her opening stance. Despite that, he'd only just barely been able to jump to the side, avoiding her first attack.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to counterattack. Already, she halted the momentum from the swing of her scythe, moving in for another sweeping blow with a competitive glint in her eyes.

His eyes narrowed, watching carefully as she descended. Not yet, not yet –

_Now!_ Rather than retreating, he stepped forward, planting his feet firmly into the ground, leaning down low, grabbing at her hand and pressing into her abdomen, and flipped her over.

He didn't wait even an instant to see if his rendition of his teacher's technique would work before pressing the advantage. He clapped his hands hard, a transmutation already in mind as he whirled around to follow the arc of Ruby's body being thrown aside by her own momentum, and pressed his hands firmly down to the ground.

Hands of stone came rushing out from the tiled flooring, sending Ruby tumbling further away. Again, he clapped his hands, ready to send another wave of projectiles toward his target, but Ruby –

Ruby recovered from the impact, bracing her body and forcing herself to stay low to the ground, skidding for some distance along the floor. Ed's eyes widened, as instead of charging in with his scythe as he'd expected her to, she instead planted the tip of the crescentic blade firmly into the ground, placing her eyes level with the shaft –

_Sniper rifle._ He changed the purpose of his transmutation, quickly calling on a thick pillar of stone to rise from the ground. He was just able to intercept her shot barely in time, as his barrier exploded into tiny shards of stone from the round of Explosive Dust she had used.

Quickly, he readied yet another wall, but Ruby reacted first. He saw her grinning face, as she morphed into a shower of rose petals, diving circumferentially to one side, reforming an instant later to his side with her rifle already out, and pulled the trigger.

The next thing he knew, he was being sent flying through the air, smoke trailing from his body. The force of that explosion could have rivalled Kimblee's alchemy. That attack would have severely injured him just a few weeks back, when he didn't know a thing about Aura.

"Gah!"

His frantic follow-up alchemy managed to catch her next two shots, at the very least, but now she was repeating her action again, using her Semblance to get around his barrier. He gritted his teeth, summoning a dome to shield him off from all sides to at least provide some temporary relief, then thickened the protective layer to prevent any further aggression.

"Hey! That's not fair, Ed!" Ruby's muffled voice came from outside the wall.

Heh. If there's one thing he learnt from the colonel, it was that everything was fair game in a fight.

What now, though? He couldn't see his opponent, and though he could keep replenishing his wall, he doubted any blind attempt at hitting Ruby from within would work, even if he could theoretically thin out his barrier and launch some spiked projectiles out as Armstrong favoured. Expanding the barrier to restrain her available space to move was another possibility, but his barrier would be thinned out to accommodate for the greater surface area required. There was no telling if she couldn't just simply slash her way through it in that case.

Hmm… what to do…

-o-o-o-

"Your brother's pretty good at fighting, huh, big guy?"

There was now a lull in the fighting, with Ruby carefully skirting around the edge of the dome that Ed had created, ready to fire the instant that he made his appearance. For his part, though, Ed seemed to be content with waiting things out.

It didn't quite fit with what Al knew of his brother, given his reckless nature. It meant that Ed _had_ to be planning something, even if Al didn't know what it was just yet. Winning by stalemate wasn't his style. That was more of Al's, just as he'd attempted to do against Pride before Kimblee came to bail the homunculus out.

Alphonse shifted uncomfortably, as Yang took the seats abandoned by Ruby and Ed, dragging her partner along with her. Worse, she'd included team JNPR along in the conversation, which meant that he now had to deal with Yang _and _Nora, alone.

"I guess? Brother's used lances quite a lot, and he knows how to fight against someone of the same height as him."

"Aha! You're calling him short, too!" Yang pointed accusingly, grinning.

"Please don't tell brother…"

"Seems like he's got quite a bit of Aura, too," Yang commented. "Even that Dust round that Ruby used didn't take out as much of his Aura as I thought it would."

"Huh?"

"Look at it," Yang said, pointing. "Only ten per cent? I'm pretty sure that could have taken out a third or more of Ruby's, if she was directly hit by the explosion like he was."

"People have different _amounts_ of Aura?"

"Yeah. No one's quite sure why, though." Yang leaned forward, talking Pyrrha and Jaune on the shoulder. "Hey, Pyrrha! You told us at lunch that Jaune's got plenty of Aura, right?"

"Hmm?" Again, she'd been engrossed in the fight, carefully studying each of the two student's movements. "Yes, I believe so. It does seem like Edward has quite a bit himself."

"There you have it, big guy. Even Pyrrha thinks so."

Why, though? They'd only known about Aura just a few weeks ago. If it really _was_ true, and given that Aura was supposedly the manifestation of the soul…

…well, they were born of a man who was a Philosopher's Stone given form, even if they weren't Philosopher's Stones themselves. It was just a conjecture, but perhaps the effects that dad's parentage gave them ran deeper than they'd all thought? Just because they were biologically _human _as dad had saiddidn't mean their souls were quite the same as others.

"Speaking of Aura, there's something odd about short-stuff's Semblance," Yang spoke, frowning. "His Aura didn't seem to dip at all, even after using it so extensively."

"Yeah… I noticed that as well," Pyrrha commented, looking at Alphonse curiously.

_That _made the others turn to face him, and Al was put on the spot.

How was he supposed to tell them that alchemy was not, in fact, a Semblance? That they were drawing energy from the movements of the earth itself, or according to alkahestry, the breath of millions of souls across the planet?

"Well you see…" He racked his brains for any plausible explanation, lying through his teeth. "Our Semblance… it's not quite the same as others, right? We don't do much other than alter the composition of an object, so it doesn't really use Aura."

"Really?" Weiss spoke to him for the first time, showing just a hint of interest. "I suppose that there are Semblances that don't require active expenditure of Aura, but…" She paused in thought. "What happens if you try using Aura to power your Semblance?"

They hadn't tried that before, but for good reason. What kind of transmutation circle could allow for _Aura_ to be transmuted? If it even existed, it had to be something learned only through discovery, rather than any foreknowledge they may have had from Amestrian alchemy.

"We can't actually do that; not yet, at least," Al said factually. "We've been training with our Semblance, though, to see if it could potentially work with Dust."

"Wait, so you don't think that what your brother's doing now is the limit of your Semblance?" Ren mused. "It is already very impressive."

Hah. Alphonse knew that this was nowhere _close _to the limits of alchemy, even before factoring in the oddities of Remnant, since he had personally seen the way Father and his dad fought. They didn't even need to move to use their alchemy, and they could alter _energy _itself without having to recompose matter as an intermediate step.

"Yes. We think that there's more to it."

"Really?" Jaune asked, slightly incredulous. "Summoning a giant wall of stone and those _trebuchets _from yesterday isn't enough?"

"Semblances are known to evolve," Pyrrha said kindly, for the benefit of her partner. "In time, with more use of your Aura, you'll discover your own Semblance too, Jaune."

Interesting. While their research had admittedly been focused on Dust, they hadn't come across that fact yet. Would they even develop a Semblance of their own eventually, rather than the fake alchemy they had cooked up?

"Hey! Look!" Nora exclaimed suddenly, bouncing excitedly in her seat. "He's finally going to break her kneecaps!"

"Nora!"

"What, Rennie?"

Al ignored them, watching as a section of the stone wall burst out, missing Ruby entirely, blind as Ed was from within his cover. She grinned, using her Semblance to get in position past the entryway that had been created from his transmutation, readied her rifle, and –

-o-o-o-

The seconds ticked by as Ed considered his options. Every problem could be deconstructed into simpler models, approximations that were close enough to the truth from which a solution could be devised.

_Think._ Ruby had the advantage in range and speed. Even in close quarters, he doubted he could easily win, seeing as his advantage could only come if he got close enough to be within the swinging distance of her scythe. With Ruby's speed, she could easily disengage while still attacking, preventing that course of action.

Suppose he tried a desperate play, pushing his barrier aside all around him to catch her, and then try charging at her under the cover of his surprise attack. She was _probably _fast enough to be able to dodge his initial opening salvo, especially if she was keeping her distance from his barrier while waiting for an opportunity, in which case the fight was as good as hers.

His best option, then, was a trap. Ruby seemed to be too naively innocent to believe him capable of utilising one, and it would be her undoing in this fight. But what trap would work?

He couldn't repeat what they'd done with Amber's attackers, since he doubted Glynda would appreciate him burrowing through the ground to the floor below. A dust cloud could work, but he'd be equally blind as her. Possibly worse, even, since he had no idea of her current position while she knew his general direction to be holed up in his shelter.

What would Ruby do? If he pushed all the slabs of stone away, she won. If he made a _single _opening, however…

Yes, he could see it now. She would be more predictable. If she chose to fight from afar, there would be only be one way she could aim and fire at him, although his mobility would be equally poor while stuck in his hideout. If she tried closing in, he'd have the advantage, since his existing barriers could be reshaped to strike at her from all angles while she only had a single means of approach.

He'd need to play the odds a little. If she went in up close, she would likely lose, but what could he do to let him win if she chose the former? She would stay at range, keep him pinned down with her sniper rifle, which meant –

Yes. _That _was an idea.

Risky, but probably worth it.

He readied himself, inhaling deeply, and transmuted a section of the wall, flinging it outward forcefully. It didn't matter whether or not it hit Ruby, although doing so would be a bonus.

The bait was set.

He clapped his hands, energy circulating wildly within him.

A blur of red morphed into a humanoid figure, scythe blade digging into the ground, the barrel of her rifle aimed directly at him. The former it was, then.

His alchemy took hold.

She pulled the trigger.

He grinned. The trap was sprung.

It _worked._

The moment that the firing pin struck the primer to generate a spark, his transmuted mix of hydrogen and oxygen in a far larger proportion than normal atmospheric air ignited, sending Ruby flying back with a thundering _boom_, as a faint trail of flame trailed back to his position, connected by his thread of oxygen.

_How's that for originality, shitty colonel_? He didn't even need to generate his own spark. Ruby did all the work for him. It wasn't the strongest explosion he could manage, since he didn't want to blow her arm off or risk blowing _himself_ up with his inexperience, but it was enough to stagger her.

She yelped in surprise, her Aura flaring, as she was blasted away backward. True to her position as a huntress, however, she didn't panic from the unexpected occurrence, already shifting into a roll.

Ed didn't waste any time. Surprise attacks and exploiting Ruby's naivety was his sole method of achieving victory.

Slamming a fist down into the ground, he raised a dust storm, a throwback to the time the colonel had challenged him to combat.

"Hey! Ed! Stop it! I can't see!"

He grinned, quickly getting to work. He deconstructed the massive blocks of stone that had served as his makeshift barrier to further feed into his obscuring screen, the blue sparks of alchemy hidden by the dust storm he'd cooked up. Then, with a second burst of alchemy, he created a vaguely humanoid-looking figure of stone, and threw his cloak around it.

The bait was set. Quickly, he dashed off into the side where he'd purposely made the cloud thicker, while his dummy target was made obvious to Ruby.

"Aha! There you are!" Ruby's voice came through the cloud. His anticipation grew. "Take that!"

Her scythe _tore cleanly _through his stone dummy, something he hadn't expected. Her form paused, her movements suddenly turning clumsy, and she yelped frantically in pure reflex, despite the dull '_thud' _of stone acting to clue her in to the fact that the figure she'd decapitated wasn't actually him.

"What – Ed – I – no –"

He would use that to his advantage. He charged in from where he'd hidden, wrist blade extended, striking at her from the side while she was panicking.

"Cheap shot!" he couldn't resist blurting out.

She turned around, trying to bring her scythe to block his attack, but it was too late. His blade struck her across the torso, draining a chunk of her Aura.

That, however, came with its own price.

Back in Amestris, a clean blow was a clean blow, flesh parting beneath steel with minimal resistance. Here, however, Aura blunted his attack, and true to the principle of Equivalent Exchange, his arm in turn bore the reactionary force imparted by Aura.

Without being maintained since being reconstructed by Truth since his entry to this world, worn down by the battles he'd fought and simple lack of proper maintenance, the innermost components of his automail finally reached their breaking point. Gears crumbled, screws loosened, and with a single fracture of the tiniest of components, the entire arm broke apart.

His momentum lost, he staggered back, down an arm despite the advantage he'd achieved from his surprise strike.

Damn it, he _really_ couldn't catch a break.

"Ed!" Ruby shouted angrily at first from her perceived betrayal, but her expression quickly changed to shock. "Your arm!"

"Mister Elric –"

"Stay focused!" He leapt forward, punching her with his good arm. Stunned, she took the hit, even though he hadn't fully compensated for the change in his balance and was thus clumsier than he'd like to be. "The battle is still on!"

Besides, this was hardly the first time he'd had to fight without an arm. He pressed the attack, punching and kicking at her, while she tried her best to dodge.

"Ed, you're hurt! You can't even use your Semblance anymore!"

"Not according to my Aura, I'm not," he retorted, kicking her once in the abdomen before vaulting off her to land on his feet. It wasn't quite what he was used to, given her relatively shorter stature than the opponents he was used to fighting, but he adapted. "Now fight back!"

Spurred by his words, Ruby's eyes narrowed, and she gripped her scythe with renewed concentration. Ed grinned. This was the kind of fight he liked. They stared at each other, his posture defensive, while Ruby readied herself.

And if she thought he couldn't use his Semblance, well…

Back to the basics, he supposed.

He bent down unexpectedly, quickly sketching the simplest transmutation circle he could think of with the scattered dust on the ground that had been kicked up by his previous transmutation. A circle, then a triangle within the circle, a square within the triangle, and a circle within the square. It took barely a second to sketch it.

_The Squared Circle_. It provided the simplest representations of all the four elements, allowing for the most basic of alchemy. Air, earth, fire, and water were his to shape.

He slammed his hand down once more, and the alchemical matrix began to glow. A pillar of earth rose up to strike at Ruby, albeit slower and smaller than before. She dodged it easily, although she was visibly surprised.

"You can still use your Semblance without clapping?"

He didn't reply, already switching to a second alchemical transmutation. Fire was straight out, and earth was of limited effectiveness, but air and water together –

A cloud of mist formed in the air, and he quickly abandoned his position, diving aside. He took the opportunity while Ruby's vision was blocked to sketch a more complicated matrix, his plentiful experience allowing for construction of the circle without even having to look at his work.

He didn't have time for a complex circle that incorporated the symbols of all seven planetary metals. Iron was all he managed, and he hoped it would be sufficient.

He pressed his good hand onto his automail leg, and an iron boot blade extended from it, the same type he had seen Lan Fan make use of before.

"There you are!"

He only had bare instants to react. Ruby was closing in with a low, sweeping strike as the temporary veil of mist began to dissipate.

He _kicked_, whirling in a wide arc, the tip of his boot blade glancing her across the abdomen, while her scythe struck his leg at an angle –

_Clink!_

_You have got to be shitting me_.

Her Aura finally gave way to the red with that final straw, having absorbed numerous attacks throughout the battle, but now even his automail leg broke apart from the force of her swing, his trouser-leg completely empty from just above the knee. He fell over, unable to balance on his good leg, lying face-down in the dirt in the ruined battlefield.

"The battle is over! Miss Rose's Aura has entered the red! Mister Elric –" Glynda paused, as she finally registered the final moments of the fight rather than judging solely by the Aura readings from their scroll. "Mister Elric?"

He tried forcing himself to stand, but with only a single leg he didn't have much luck. About as good as he could do was turning himself over to lie on his back. He chuckled. This was like how it had been after their first run in with Scar, where he and Al had depended on Armstrong and his subordinates for… well, pretty much everything.

"Call it a draw?"

"Ed?" Ruby stepped closer. He could see the confusion on her face, that quickly changed to shock. "Ed! Your leg!"

"Yeah, it's a prosthetic too," he said, smiling weakly. That had been a good fight. "Mind helping me up?"

"_Oh my God_ – Ed – I'm so sorry –"

"Shush, Ruby," he said, leaning his weight on her, as she supported him by the shoulder. "It was a good fight."

He meant it. He'd learned a thing or two, even if he had completely improvised it on the spot. Not having to learn on the fly in a life-or-death situation like it had been before against Scar, Slicer, the chimeras, the homunculi, the Grimm and so many others was a bonus.

"Mister Elric," Glynda's voice was cross, and she glared harshly at him, her brow tightening as she observed his ruined automail. "That was far too reckless, even though you fought admirably. In the future, you will not be permitted to push yourself this far. This is _combat class_, not a brawl. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Professor."

"Very well. Excellent work, both of you. Miss Rose, I hope you will appreciate that the importance of keeping your wits about you in a fight, and to anticipate feints and traps laid by your opponent. Mister Elric, while this match is _technically_ in your victory, such a risky venture will get you killed in the field. See to it that you never repeat this."

She turned to face the crowd, that had grown silent some time ago, once the means by which he had achieved a rather dubious victory finally sank in. "Alphonse. Please escort your brother to the workshop to see to the repair of his prosthetics. You two will be excused for your remaining classes of the day."

Well, he hoped he could do a good enough job on his own, without Winry around.

"I can help –"

"It's alright, Ruby. You've still got Plant Studies with Professor Peach after this."

He could probably try repairing it along with Alphonse, before resorting to outside help if truly necessary. He'd hardly had an automail mechanic at hand ever since his unfortunate defeat and close brush with death at Briggs, after all, and had to learn some basics of automail maintenance personally. He brushed her aside, then faced his brother, who had been approaching the stage even before called upon by Glynda.

"Hey, Al. What did you think?"

"You idiot! I told you to stop being so reckless!"

Yeah, he'd kind of expected that to be his reaction. He continued enduring his brother's nagging, carried along on one of Al's arms while the other held a transmuted basket carrying all the pieces of scrap metal that used to be his automail. Hopefully, it wouldn't take more than a few hours to get it fixed up.

Oh, right. He hoped Winry would never find out about how he broke his automail, _again_, only this time in what was supposed to be a friendly, controlled spar. She'd probably never let him live it down.

* * *

**Just a little bit of the first day left, and I can finally move on with a mini time-skip, yay!**


End file.
